IRLF 


GIFT  OF 


CV/? 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 


BY 


IRVING  S.  COOPER 

National  Lecturer  of  the  Theosophical  Societr.     Author  of  "Ways  to  Perfect 
Health,"  "The  Secret  of  Happiness,"  "Methods  of  Psychic  Development" 


THE  THEOSOPHICAL  BOOK  CONCERN 
"KROTONA,"  HOLLYWOOD,  LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA 

1915 


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readers  from  attempting  to  practice  many  of  the 
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so  prevalent  today,  and  cause  them  to  regard  more 
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THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 


BY 

IRVING  S.  COOPER 

National  Lecturer  of  the  Theosophical  Society.    Author  of  "Ways  to  Perfect 
Health,"  "The  Secret  of  Happiness,"  "Methods  of  Psychic  DeTclopment" 


THE  THEOSOPHICAL  BOOK  CONCERN 
"KROTONA,"  HOLLYWOOD,  LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA 

1915 


IGHT,    1915 

BY  IBVINO  S.  COOPER 


o. 


1*~nJL~ 

£ 


To 
0.  W.  L. 

first  showed  me  the  Light 


PEERAGE 

This  simple  outline  of  the  teachings  of  Theosophy  is 
intended  for  those  who  are  commencing  their  study  of  the 
subject,  and  to  be  of  service  to  teachers  of  classes  in 
elementary  Theosophy.  Its  only  recommendation  is  its 
simplicity  and  directness  of  statement,  to  attain  which 
no  effort  has  been  spared. 

Chicago,  March,  1915.  I.  S.  C. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     The  Sources  and  Nature  of  Theosophy 9 

II     The  Other  Worlds 20 

III  The  Aura  and  the  Soul 28 

IV  What  Happens  After  Death 37 

V     Growth  Through  Reincarnation 46 

VI     The  Problem  of  Destiny 56 

VII    The  Splendid  Goal 65 

A  Course  of  Reading  in  Theosophy 87 

Index. 

The  Theosophical  Society. 


CHAPTER  I 

THE   SOURCES  AND  NATURE  OF   THEOSOPHY 

When  an  unfamiliar  system  of  thought  is  presented 
for  consideration,  it  is  always  legitimate  to  ask:  "What 
are  the  sources  of  your  information?"  Our  willingness 
to  take  the  time  and  expend  the  energy  necessary  to 
study  that  system  naturally  depends  upon  the  clearness 
and  reasonableness  of  the  answer.  So  in  presenting  the 
teachings  of  Theosophy  it  is  right  to  expect  that  a  frank 
statement  will  be  made  as  to  the  sources  of  theosophical 
knowledge. 

These  sources  are  of  two  kinds : 

(1)  Those    which    are    accessible    at    once    to    any 
thoughtful  man  with  his  normal  intellectual  capacities, 
and 

(2)  Those  which  may  be  reached  only  after  pre- 
liminary training  and  development  of  the   character, 
mind  and  subtle  senses. 

An  objection  may  be  made  to  the  second  kind,  by  one 
commencing  the  study  of  Theosophy,  on  the  ground 
that  all  information  obtained  in  this  way  must  be  taken 
— at  least  for  a  time — on  the  statements  of  others.  This 
is  of  course  true,  yet  we  are  accustomed  constantly  to 
adopt  this  attitude.  In  fact,  the  greater  part  of  current 
knowledge  cannot  be  verified  by  the  ordinary  untrained 
man,  but  is  accepted  solely  on  the  statements  of  experts. 

For  example,  we  read  and  believe  many  statements 
about  atoms,  yet  none  of  us  could  duplicate  the  experi- 
ments by  which  these  statements  are  proved  without 
long  scientific  training.  We  accept  the  conclusions  of 

[9] 


rHEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

astronomers  regarding  the  movements  of  the  sun,  moon 
and  stars,  even  though  these  conclusions  contradict  the 
evidence  of  our  senses,  because  we  have  faith  in  those 
who  have  made  a  specialty  of  astronomy.  Musicians 
tell  us  of  the  superb  technical  mastery  of  Liszt  and  we 
believe  them,  though  it  would  take  us  years  of  pains- 
taking study  and  practice  before  we  could  realize  this 
for  ourselves. 

It  is  not  unreasonable,  therefore,  in  commencing  the 
study  of  Theosophy,  to  accept  as  possible  the  statements 
made  by  experts  trained  in  theosophical  investigation. 
Later,  if  it  is  thought  worth  while,  an  effort  may  be 
made  to  verify  these  statements  and  convince  ourselves 
of  the  truth  of  the  deeper  teachings  of  Theosophy.  Of 
course,  it  is  unwise  to  accept  a  statement  as  a  truth 
merely  because  it  is  made  by  another  person,  but  it  is 
also  equally  unwise  to  deny  it  until  we  actually  know 
the  facts.  The  best  course  is  to  hold  the  middle  path 
and  neither  to  deny  nor  affirm,  but  to  empty  the  mind 
of  prejudice  and  preconceived  notions  and  to  submit 
everything  to  the  criterion  of  the  reasoning  conscious- 
ness and  of  the  intuition. 

The  first  of  these  sources  which  are  accessible  at  once 
to  a  thoughtful  man  is  the  teaching  of  the  great  religions 
of  the  world.  When  we  begin  the  study  of  comparative 
religion,  we  seem  lost  in  a  maze  of  contradictions  and 
even  of  absurdities,  but  with  practice  we  become  able 
in  thought  to  strip  away  the  ceremonials,  forms  and 
customs  peculiar  to  each  religion  and  get  at  the  funda- 
mental ideas  and  teachings  common  to  all. 

The  differences  which  exist  between  one  religion  and 
another  are  due  to  the  various  characteristics  of  the 
people  who  hold  them,  and  to  the  deposit  of  ceremonies, 
speculations  and  fancies  which,  during  the  centuries,  has 
gradually  obscured  or  covered  up  the  basic  truths 
taught  by  their  Founders.  Fundamentally,  all  religions 

[10] 


SOUECES  AND  NATUEE  OF  THEOSOPHY 

are  one,  for  sympathetic  study  clearly  indicates  that 
they  teach  the  same  doctrines  and  inculcate  the  same 
ideals  of  conduct  and  life. 

In  their  externals,  however,  they  are  unlike  each  other, 
for  the  reason  that  they  were  planned  to  appeal  to  dif- 
ferent races  and  temperaments.  At  our  existing  stage 
of  growth,  one  religion  cannot  and  does  not  satisfy  the 
religious  needs  of  the  whole  world,  for  generally  when 
it  comes  to  religious  matters,  we  are  more  influenced  by 
the  way  we  are  taught  than  by  the  teachings  themselves. 
The  mental  and  emotional  characteristics  of  each  race 
determine  the  most  suitable  form  of  instruction  and,  as 
these  characteristics  vary,  so  each  religion  differs  in  its 
externals  in  order  to  produce  the  desired  result.  "As 
fits  each  separate  human  need  so  seems  My  Image," 
beautifully  suggests  God's  attitude  to  man. 

It  takes  a  certain  bigness  of  mind  sympathetically 
to  study  each  religion  for  the  truth  it  contains,  since 
it  is  necessary  to  eliminate  undue  partiality  for  one 
form  of  worship,  to  learn  to  think  in  the  terms  and 
symbols  of  each  Faith  studied,  to  overcome  prejudice, 
to  practice  tolerance  and  to  be  a  lover  of  truth.  But  if 
this  can  be  done  by  the  student,  the  basic  teachings 
underlying  all  the  great  religions  will  be  found  to  be 
perfectly  in  accord  with  the  teachings  of  Theosophy. 

This  is  why  Theosophy  appeals  to  the  followers  of 
every  religion  and  explains  why  Christians  and  Budd- 
hists, Hindus  and  Parsees,  Hebrews  and  Mohammadans, 
though  still  retaining  their  religion,  have  joined  the 
Theosophical  Society.  Each  finds  in  Theosophy  that 
which  illuminates  his  own  religious  beliefs  and  aids  him 
to  live  the  higher  life  inculcated  by  his  scriptures.  This 
is  also  the  reason  why  Theosophy  does  not  emphasize 
the  superiority  of  one  religion  over  all  others,  for  each 
great  Faith  has  its  message  to  the  world,  and  mankind 
would  be  poorer  without  it.  While  Theosophy  is  not 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

a  religion — since  its  teachings  are  unaccompanied  by 
ritual  or  ceremonial  and  are  not  in  the  custody  of  a 
priesthood — nevertheless  it  is  profoundly  religious,  as 
it  teaches  the  essential  truths  found  in  all  religions. 

A  great  many  theosophical  truths  may  be  found  in 
studying  the  fragments  which  have  come  down  to  us 
of  the  instruction  given  in  the  ancient  Mysteries.  These 
famous  institutions,  which  flourished  in  Persia,  Egypt, 
Greece  and  Rome,  were  founded  for  the  purpose  of  giv- 
ing to  the  advanced  people  of  the  time  a  philosophical 
and  rational  interpretation  of  the  myths  and  legends 
which  satisfied  the  common  people  and  constituted  the 
popular  religions.  Though  only  scattered  portions  of 
the  once  secret  teachings  now  remain,  still  the  attentive 
student  is  rewarded  by  finding  occasionally  a  precious 
truth  half-hidden  in  the  obscure  phrases  of  these  old 
instructions. 

Another  more  fruitful  field  of  study  is  the  teachings 
of  several  philosophic  schools  which  rose  to  power  and 
fell  to  obscurity  during  earlier  centuries.  The  wonder- 
ful Pythagorean  Discipline  at  Crotona ;  the  brilliant  Neo- 
Platonic  Schools  of  Alexandria — particularly  that  which 
centered  round  Hypatia;  the  much-misunderstood  al- 
chemists, whose  symbology  tinged  the  writings  of  the 
Middle  Ages;  the  interesting  Rosicrucian  Orders,  the 
undercurrent  of  whose  teachings  permeated  the  whole 
of  European  thought  during  the  fifteenth,  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries;  the  Masonic  movement  which 
followed,  are  all  sources  of  theosophic  knowledge.  The 
statements  made  in  the  ancient  books  and  rare  manu- 
scripts in  which  this  information  may  be  found  are 
usually  difficult  to  understand,  because  expressed  in 
quaint  symbols  and  obsolete  phrases,  but  persistent 
study  is  richly  rewarded. 

Modern  Theosophy  is  greatly  indebted  to  science  for 
its  discoveries  and  for  the  exact  terminology  which  has 

[12] 


SOURCES  AND  NATURE  OF  THEOSOPHY 

resulted  from,  the  careful  manner  in  which  the  state- 
ments of  scientists  have  been  formulated.  Modern 
Theosophy  is  equally  careful  in  its  methods  of  research 
and  its  phraseology  has  gradually  become  more  precise. 

Theosophists  of  ancient  and  medieval  times  were  often- 
times vague  and  obscure  when  they  attempted  to  de- 
scribe what  they  saw,  or  to  formulate  the  laws  govern- 
ing human  growth  and  existence.  This  was  due,  not 
to  any  effort  on  their  part  to  describe  things  which  did 
not  exist,  but  because  of  the  immensity  of  their  con- 
ceptions concerning  God  and  the  universe,  and  because 
there  were  no  words  then  in  use  which  could  adequately 
describe  these  things.  That  is  why  symbolism  was  so 
largely  employed  then,  but  is  to  a  great  extent  un- 
necessary now.  The  richly  descriptive  language  of  sci- 
ence has  taken  the  place  of  the  symbol.  How  could 
early  investigators  describe  electricity,  an  atom,  a  vibra- 
tion, the  planes  of  nature,  when  the  terms  themselves 
had  not  been  coined,  and  even  the  most  cultured  people 
knew  nothing  of  such  things?  How  could  they  explain 
clearly  the  evolution  of  the  human  soul  by  means  of 
repeated  lives  on  earth,  when  even  the  evolution  of 
human  bodies  had  not  yet  been  thought  of?  Thus  the 
modern  presentation  of  Theosophy,  which  is  decidedly 
scientific  in  tone  and  treatment,  was  made  possible  only 
because  of  the  development  of  science. 

The  teachings  of  Theosophy  include  those  of  science, 
and  every  proved  result  of  scientific  research  finds  its 
place  in  Theosophy.  In  certain  cases  theosophical  in- 
vestigators, using  special  methods  of  research,  have  an- 
ticipated science,  but  later,  scientists  have  verified  in 
their  own  way  the  results  thus  obtained.  In  still  other 
instances  Theosophy  has  carried  the  application  of  cer- 
tain laws  governing  matter  beyond  the  limits  arbitrarily 
set  by  scientists,  but  it  was  justified  in  so  doing,  be- 
cause it  has  been  found  by  observation  that  a  principle 

[13] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

of  repetition  prevails  everywhere  and  that  nature  re- 
peats in  miniature  in  the  physical  world,  processes 
which  are  universal  in  their  scope. 

The  study  of  religions  and  ancient  schools  of  philo- 
sophic thought  combined  with  a  knowledge  of  scientific 
discoveries  is  not  sufficient,  however,  to  explain  satis- 
factorily all  the  conditions  and  phenomena  of  the  world. 
Serious  gaps  still  remain  in  our  mental  scheme  of  things, 
we  seem  unable  to  reconcile  certain  apparently  conflict- 
ing viewpoints,  and  above  all  we  need  a  guiding  clew 
to  lead  us  through  the  maze  of  speculations  to  truth 
itself. 

As  examples  of  conflicting  viewpoints,  we  need  only 
compare  the  statements  of  religion  with  those  of  science. 
The  religionist  speaks  of  God  as  the  source  and  creator 
of  all  things,  the  scientist  declares  that  the  universe  was 
formed  through  the  agency  of  various  forces  obeying 
mechanical  laws.  The  religionist  tells  of  God's  love  for 
all  His  creatures,  the  scientist  points  to  the  undeserved 
misery  and  suffering  of  men  and  babes  and  the  mute 
agony  of  thousands  of  animals  and  birds.  The  religion- 
ist turns  his  thought  to  the  life  beyond  the  grave,  the 
scientist  to  a  dead  body  and  asks  for  proof  that  there 
is  anything  other  than  that.  The  religionist  accepts 
ancient  books  as  final  authority,  the  scientist  refuses  to 
admit  anything  to  be  true  except  that  which  can  be 
verified  now.  These  antagonisms  are  doubtless  due  to 
incomplete  knowledge,  but  how  can  that  knowledge  be 
gained  which  will  show  that  religion,  science,  philosophy 
and  art  are  but  different  aspects  of  the  same  body  of 
truth?  Is  it  not  obvious  that  if  this  world  is  a  unity, 
such  a  synthesis  must  exist? 

This  leads  us  to  the  consideration  of  those  sources  of 
theosophic  knowledge  which  require  preliminary  train- 
ing and  development  of  the  character,  mind  and  subtle 
senses  before  they  may  be  reached. 

[14] 


SOUBCES  AND  NATUEE  OF  THEOSOPHY 

Theosophy  has  never  agreed  with  the  dogmatic 
declaration  of  materialists  that  there  was  nothing  super- 
physical;  or  of  agnostics,  that  superphysical  things 
might  exist  but  we  could  never  know  them  because  of 
the  limitations  of  the  senses,  though  it  has  always  em- 
phasized that  ihere  is  nothing  supernatural,  everything 
taking  place  within  the  domain  of  natural  law. 
Theosophy  has  affirmed,  upon  the  basis  of  actual  experi- 
ence, that  there  are  inactive  senses  in  every  human 
being  which,  when  stimulated  to  activity,  would  make 
possible  the  investigation  of  a  normally  unseen  realm  of 
non-physical  matter  around  us. 

Instead  of  using  physical  instruments,  however,  which 
naturally  have  serious  limitations  even  though  most 
delicately  constructed,  theosophical  investigators  in  their 
researches  have  made  use  of  the  much  more  difficult 
method  of  developing  within  themselves  the  power  to 
see  this  realm  without  the  mediation  of  any  instrument. 
Long  and  arduous  training  is  necessary  before  this  can 
be  done,  and  it  is  made  exceptionally  difficult  because 
a  character  qualification  is  essential. 

A  scientist  may  be  sensual,  cruel  and  selfish,  but  his 
scientific  work  will  not  be  impaired  if  his  intellectual 
and  observational  powers  are  keen.  The  man,  however, 
who  wishes  to  take  up  the  theosophical  method  of  in- 
vestigation, must  first  refine  and  ennoble  his  character, 
because  in  so  doing  he  not  only  hastens  the  awakening 
of  those  subtle  senses  by  means  of  which  he  comes  in 
touch  with  the  unseen  world,  but  he  also  eliminates  the 
possibility  of  misuse  of  those  psychic  faculties  after  he 
awakens  them — a  serious  thing. 

There  are  a  few  people  who  have  had  the  courage  to 
commence  and  the  patience  to  persevere  with  this  severe 
training  and  have,  after  years  of  labor,  become  expert 
in  this  ancient  method  of  investigation.  Modern 
Theosophy  is  heavily  indebted  to  them  for  the  infonna- 

[15] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

tion  they  have  thus  obtained,  for  their  published  re- 
searches have  raised  Theosophy  from  the  level  of  a 
speculative  philosophy  to  the  position  of  a  world-power 
in  the  domain  of  thought,  because  of  its  richness  of  de- 
tail and  exactitude  of  statement.  And  what  they  have 
done,  others  can  do — provided  they  are  willing  to  pay 
the  price  of  constant  effort,  unselfish  labor  and  the 
capacity  to  learn  through  failure. 

The  results  of  the  investigations  of  these  experts  are 
priceless  if  we  attempt  to  estimate  their  value  to  hu- 
manity. They  have  discovered  many  interesting  and 
important  things  regarding  the  etheric  part  of  the 
physical  world  and  the  invisible  spheres — invisible,  that 
is,  to  the  normal  human  eye — which  surround  and  en- 
velop the  earth.  They  have  published  a  wealth  of  de- 
tail concerning  the  conditions  which  exist  on  the  other 
side  of  death,  the  nature  and  appearance  of  the  emo- 
tional, mental  and  soul  bodies,  the  laws  of  human 
growth  and  of  destiny,  the  purpose  of  existence  and 
the  swiftest  way  to  reach  the  goal  of  human  evolution. 

Much  of  the  exact  detail  which  distinguishes  modern 
Theosophy  from  all  other  schools  of  thinking  along 
similar  lines  is  due  to  the  labors  of  these  experts,  who 
have  spent  years  in  obtaining  the  facts  published  and 
in  verifying  by  repeated  experiments  and  observations 
the  conclusions  to  which  they  have  come. 

There  is  still  one  more  source,  the  greatest  of  all, 
from  which  Theosophy  has  derived  its  most  important 
information,  and  that  is  certain  perfected  men,  called 
sometimes  the  Brothers  and  sometimes  the  Masters,  who 
have  completed  their  human  evolution  but  remain  in 
touch  with  the  world  to  assist  humanity  in  its  growth. 
They  are  distinguished  by  fully  awakened  subtle  senses, 
superb  intellect  and  lofty  spirituality,  and  have  at  their 
command  a  vast  knowledge  of  nature 's  laws  which  is  the 
fruit  of  an  age-long  experience.  They  place  this  knowl- 

[16] 


SOUECES  AND  NATURE  OF  THEOSOPHY 

edge  at  the  disposal  of  aspirants  under  certain  condi- 
tions, generally  that  those  who  ask  for  it  shall  do  so 
not  by  mere  words,  but  by  the  noble,  unselfish  life  they 
lead,  dedicated  to  the  service  of  humanity. 

The  information  which  the  Brothers  have  given  to 
those  who  have  thus  qualified  themselves  to  receive  it, 
has  rounded  out  and  completed  the  theosophical  system 
of  thought  in  a  most  wonderful  way  and  has  filled  in 
many  gaps  in  our  knowledge.  Later,  as  the  aspirants 
themselves  awakened  and  developed  one  subtle  sense 
after  another,  they  have  verified  the  truth  of  this  in- 
formation fact  by  fact,  and  though  some  still  remains 
which  they  are  as  yet  unable  to  verify,  still  they  are 
naturally  convinced  of  the  truth  of  that  which  they 
have  been  told,  for  an  error  has  never  been  found  in 
the  statement  of  a  Master. 

We  are  now  in  a  position  to  profit  by  a  terse  definition 
of  Theosophy.  The  word  itself  is  luminous  and  beauti- 
ful, signifying  as  it  does  from  its  derivation,  "Wisdom 
concerning  God."  It  was  first  used  apparently  by 
Ammonius  Saccas  of  Alexandria  in  the  3rd  century,  to 
designate  an  eclectic  system  of  philosophy  and  oriental 
mysticism,  which  later  developed  into  Neo-Platonism. 
Theosophy  has  been  variously  defined  but  none  of  the 
definitions  is  ideal,  though  they  all  agree  that  Theosophy 
affirms  the  possibility  of  direct  knowledge  of  "things 
divine  and  eternal." 

Modern  Theosophy  may  be  defined  as  a  synthesis  of 
the  essential  truths  of  religion,  science  and  philosophy. 
In  presentation  it  blends  an  adequate  explanation  of  the 
problems  and  phenomena  of  life  and  the  universe  with 
a  practical  system  of  ethics  and  conduct  arising  naturally 
from  such  an  explanation.  Its  statements,  we  have  seen, 
are  based  upon  a  critical  and  comparative  study  of 
earlier  theosophical,  philosophical  and  religious  systems, 
upon  the  discoveries  of  physical  science,  upon  data  ob- 

[17] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

tained  by  trained  super-physical  perception,  upon  illu- 
mination resulting  from  awakened  spiritual  intuition, 
the  whole  of  this  mass  of  information  being  organized, 
bound  together  and  supplemented  by  further  informa- 
tion supplied  by  the  Masters. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  from  a  consideration  of  its 
sources,  that  modern  Theosophy  is  not  a  revelation,  in 
the  accepted  meaning  of  that  word,  and  that,  while  its 
fundamental  truths  are  rock-like,  because  based  upon 
reality,  nevertheless  the  statements  of  its  investigators 
as  to  details  are  not  infallible.  It  is  a  growing  system 
of  thought,  the  result  of  careful  study  and  research. 
Its  ideal  is  to  be  a  presentation  of  things  as  they  are 
and  to  eliminate  speculation  and  theory.  Mistakes  may 
be  made  and  have  been  made  by  its  investigators,  but 
they  are  corrected  as  soon  as  noticed.  Such  mistakes, 
as  in  scientific  research,  are  due  to  incomplete  observa- 
tion and  incorrect  inference  from  what  has  been  seen. 

It  should  be  remembered  that,  because  of  constant 
practice  and  effort,  the  powers  of  an  investigator  are  un- 
folding all  the  time,  and  that  each  year  his  capacity  to 
observe  is  greater  and  more  reliable.  Naturally,  there- 
fore, the  published  investigations  should  and  do  show 
ever  increasing  detail  and  precision  as  the  years  advance, 
and  if  one  wishes  to  gain  an  adequate  idea  of  the  teach- 
ings of  Theosophy,  the  latest  books  should  be  read  as 
well  as  the  earlier  ones.  It  is  reassuring  to  note,  how- 
ever, that  practically  all  the  information  obtained 
through  modern  theosophical  investigation  has  stood  the 
hard  tests  of  time,  and  that  nearly  all  the  changes  made 
have  been  of  the  nature  of  amplifications.  This  speaks 
well  for  the  accuracy  of  those  who  stand  at  the  fore- 
front of  the  theosophical  movement. 

If  Theosophy  is  what  its  friends  claim  it  to  be,  then 
it  is  nothing  less  than  the  bedrock  upon  which  all  phases 
of  the  world's  thought  and  activity  are  founded.  Now 

[18] 


SOUKCES  AND  NATURE  OF  THEOSOPHY 

such  a  body  of  Knowledge  is  possible  theoretically,  if 
the  universe  is  a  unity  and  not  a  chaos,  but  whether 
modern  Theosophy  is  an  approximation  to  that  Know- 
ledge remains  for  time  to  prove. 


[19] 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  OTHER  WORLDS 

Though  great  rivers  are  still  being  discovered  in 
Brazil,  the  unexplored  regions  of  the  earth  are  shrink- 
ing year  by  year.  This  would  be  a  matter  only  of  con- 
gratulation were  it  not  that  our  "natural-born  trav- 
elers" will  suffer  the  pangs  of  unsatisfied  desire.  How 
may  that  fever  of  discovery  inherent  in  the  race  be 
cooled  except  by  offering  new  realms  for  exploration? 
And  where  may  those  realms  be  found  now  that  the 
visible  earth  has  been  raked,  scraped,  dissected,  weighed 
and  analysed?  Obviously  we  must  turn  our  attention 
towards  those  other  worlds  to  which  seers  have  pointed 
for  so  many  centuries  without  awakening  much  inter- 
est, it  would  seem,  until  now. 

Advanced  thinkers  have  already  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  we  are  living  not  only  on  the  surface  of  a 
physical  globe,  but  also  in  the  midst  of  a  normally  un- 
seen world.  While  many  are  beginning  to  suspect  that 
this  subtle  world  may  be  scientifically  studied,  a  few 
are  causing  much  shrugging  of  the  shoulders  by  affirm- 
ing that  it  has  already  been  carefully  investigated  and 
described,  its  inhabitants  classified  and  its  phenomena 
tabulated.  This  statement  is  a  strong  one,  we  must  ad- 
mit, but  it  is  made  by  those  who  have  done  the  work 
and  denied  by  those  who  have  not  even  taken  the  trouble 
to  read  the  reports  of  the  investigations.  Now  these 
reports  are  exceedingly  interesting  and,  while  undoubt- 
edly many  details  are  lacking — for  the  study  of  a  new 
world  is  a  Herculean  task — nevertheless  what  has  been 
discovered  instructs  as  well  as  fascinates. 

[20] 


THE  OTHEE  WOELDS 

Unfortunately  our  understanding  of  this  invisible 
realm  is  oftentimes  obscured  because,  strangely  enough, 
we  usually  adopt  one  of  two  attitudes,  both  of  which 
are  illogical.  Either  we  regard  the  whole  matter  as  a 
jumble  of  freakish  fancies  and  the  result  of  unwhole- 
some speculation,  or  we  swing  to  the  other  extreme  and 
veil  everything  related  to  this  unseen  realm  in  unjusti- 
fied mystery  and  reverence,  and  speak  of  its  phenomena 
with  bated  breath.  Mystery  is  the  shadow  cast  on  nature 
by  ignorance. 

There  seems  to  be  an  ingrained  scepticism  in  most 
people  concerning  anything  non-physical.  It  is  fre- 
quently so  pronounced  that  it  distorts  their  opinions 
and  prevents  an  unbiased  judgment.  This  is  certainly 
true  when  it  comes  to  the  consideration  of  the  evidence  for 
the  existence  of  a  sup'erphysical  world.  Many  persons 
dogmatically  declare,  without  any  investigation  whatso- 
ever, that  such  a  world  does  not  exist,  not  realizing  that 
opinions  based  on  prejudices  are  valueless  and  that,  as 
they  are  unacquainted  with  the  numerous  discoveries 
which  have  been  made,  their  statements  carry  no  weight 
whatever.  It  is  significant  that  all  those  who  have 
studied  carefully  the  available  evidence  affirm  their  con- 
viction that  a  non-physical  realm  does  exist. 

Theosophical  investigation  of  this  unseen  realm  has 
shown  that  it  is  composed  of  several  interpenetrating 
regions  or  worlds,  of  which  only  two,  however,  are  of 
practical  importance  in  this  preliminary  study.  These 
two  subtle  worlds  are  contained  one  within  the  other, 
the  solid  physical  earth  being  embedded  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  two.  We  may  think  of  them  as  two  vast 
spheres  surrounding  the  earth  not  unlike  a  giant  at- 
mosphere, yet  at  the  same  time  permeating  everywhere 
the  physical  matter  of  the  earth  with  the  same  ease  that 
water  vapor  spreads  through  the  air.  One  sphere  is 
larger  than  the  other  and  therefore  extends  much  farther 

[21] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

out  into  space,  but  both  of  them  surround  us  all  the 
time,  although  we  are  normally  unconscious  of  their 
existence.  As  the  earth  swings  through  space,  following 
its  pathway  round  the  sun,  these  spheres  move  with  it 
just  as  does  the  physical  atmosphere. 

Thus,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  we  are  living  in  three 
worlds  at  once  and  we  shall  find,  if  we  continue  our 
studies,  that  human  evolution  is  intimately  connected 
with  all  three.  These  subtle  worlds  are  as  objective  arid 
"real"  to  those  conscious  of  them  as  the  earth  is  "real" 
to  us,  and  we  should  not  think  of  them  as  shadowy  un- 
realities because  unknown  to  the  physical  senses.  The 
matter  of  which  they  are  formed  is  not  physical  in  its 
characteristics  and,  for  want  of  better  descriptive  terms, 
has  been  called  emotional  and  mental  matter;  the  sig- 
nificance of  these  names  will  be  seen  later. 

The  trend  of  recent  scientific  discoveries  has  been'  to- 
wards the  infinitesimal — the  dissection  of  the  atom.  For- 
merly it  was  believed  that  atoms  were  the  ultimate  units 
or  bricks  out  of  which  all  physical  forms  were  built. 
Now  it  is  known  that  the  atoms  themselves  are  complex 
structures,  formed  of  differently  grouped  "bundles"  of 
particles  indeutical  in  their  nature.  Several  years  ago, 
in  a  remarkable  paper  read  before  one  of  the  English 
scientific  societies,  Sir  William  Crookes  advanced  the 
theory  of  a  primitive  substance  underlying  all  the  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  physical  matter.  He  called  this  theo- 
retical substance  "protyle"  and  presented  some  illumina- 
tive data  in  support  of  his  point  of  view.  At  that  time, 
Crookes'  conclusions  were  not  accepted,  but  now,  through 
a  series  of  brilliant  investigations  made  possible  by  the 
refinement  of  electrical  experimentation,  the  existence 
of  electrons  or  ultimate  particles  has  been  generally 
acknowledged  by  scientists. 

Electrons  are  considered  by  many  scientists  to  be  not 
"things  in  themselves"  but  merely  centres  of  force  in 

[22] 


THE  OTHEE  WOELDS 

the  invisible  ether  which  surrounds  and  penetrates  all 
things.  Theosophical  investigators,  through  direct  ob- 
servation made  possible  by  certain  awakened  senses,  have 
determined  that  every  physical  object,  including  the 
human  body,  is  bathed  and  duplicated  in  etheric  matter, 
through  which  flow  continually  electrical,  magnetic  and 
other  forces  closely  associated  with  physical  life.  It  was 
noticed  that  there  were  four  densities  or  grades  of  this 
ether,  forming,  with  the  solids,  liquids  and  gases  with 
which  we  are  familiar,  seven  densities  of  physical  mat- 
ter; for  the  ether  itself  is  physical  though  invisible  to 
the  normal  human  eye. 

This  brings  us  to  the  important  fact  that  there  is  no 
gulf  between  the  physical  and  the  next  interpenetrating 
world.  The  matter  of  the  denser  world  is  formed  in- 
directly out  of  the  matter  of  the  subtler.  During  the 
experiments  of  theosophical  investigators,  in  which  they 
studied  the  structure  of  matter,  it  was  found  that  by  a 
strong  effort  of  the  will — which  set  certain  forces  in 
action — it  was  possible  to  break  up  the  particles  of  the 
finest  physical  ether.  When  this  was  done  the  character- 
istics of  the  resultant  particles  entirely  changed;  they 
were  no  longer  physical  in  their  nature.  They  proved 
to  be  the  molecules  of  the  densest  matter  of  the  inter- 
penetrating subtle  world. 

The  molecules  of  this  world,  the  emotional  or  astral 
world,  obey  laws  different  from  those  governing  physical 
matter.  They  do  not  expand  with  heat  nor  contract 
with  cold  as  physical  molecules  do.  They  follow  a  law 
of  gravity  of  their  own.  The  vibrations  which  move 
through  them  permit  an  increased  power  of  vision  out  of 
all  proportion  greater  than  physical  sight.  The  matter 
itself  is  extremely  mobile,  responding  particularly  in  a 
most  marvelous  way  to  the  play  of  emotions — hence  the 
name,  emotional  matter.  Its  response  to  emotion,  desire 
and  passion  is  greater  than  that  of  air  to  sound  and 

[23] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

ether  to  artificial  light,  for  it  carries  the  vibrations  a  long 
distance  from  the  person  generating  them,  and  ripples 
into  quivering  masses  of  color  varying  in  hue  according 
to  the  type  of  emotion.  Another  striking  characteristic 
of  this  matter  is  that  it  is  readily  moulded  into  various 
forms  by  emotion  which,  though  evanescent,  usually  per- 
sist for  several  hours  or  days,  vibrating  all  the  time  at 
the  same  rate  as  the  original  oscillation  which  brought 
them  into  existence. 

The  densest  matter  of  the  emotional  world  duplicates 
every  physical  object,  so  that  it  is  possible  while  moving 
in  its  lower  levels  to  observe  what  is  taking  place  physic- 
ally. Not  that  the  physical  objects  themselves  are  visible 
when  one  is  observantly  active  in  the  emotional  body,  but 
the  counterparts  in  subtle  matter  of  those  objects  are 
readily  seen.  In  fact,  those  who  are  not  very  observant 
or,  for  one  reason  or  another,  are  not  aware  that  they 
are  moving  about  in  the  astral  world,  frequently  do  not 
detect  any  difference  between  objects  formed  of  physical 
matter  and  the  subtle  duplicates  of  those  objects.  Farther 
out  in  those  regions  of  the  emotional  world  which  are 
some  distance  from  the  surface  of  the  earth,  varied 
scenes  of  great  beauty  and  interest  are  found — the 
products  of  the  creative  imagination  of  the  people  living 
there. 

The  emotional  world  is  thickly  populated  with  all 
types  of  living  things,  human  and  non-human,  not  on 
its  surface  as  is  the  case  with  the  earth,  but  within  it, 
even  as  fish  live  in  the  sea  and  birds  in  the  air.  Limbs 
are  not  necessary  for  walking  nor  wings  for  flying,  for 
desire  and  will  are  the  motive  powers  which  move  us 
from  place  to  place  in  this  unseen  world,  but  nevertheless 
we  preserve  the  same  appearance  there  as  here,  probably 
from  habit,  but  also  possibly  from  some  deeper  law  of 
form  which  controls  all  creation. 

The  non-human  creatures  follow  a  line  of  evolution 

[24] 


THE  OTHER  WORLDS 

which  has  little  to  do  directly  with  the  human.  They 
range  in  intelligence  from  the  level  of  our  lowest  animals 
to  lofty  types  far  wiser  than  men — the  angelic  presences 
of  religious  tradition.  They  do  not  have  physical  bodies 
resembling  ours,  but  appear  in  subtle  bodies  made  of 
radiant  emotional  matter. 

Animals  also  are  there  who  have  lost  their  physical 
bodies  by  death.  They  spend  a  brief  though  happy 
period  in  the  emotional  world  before  being  born  again 
of  animals  of  the  same  species. 

In  this  world  are  found  millions  of  human  beings,  in- 
cluding not  only  the  entire  population  that  is  living  on 
earth  at  any  one  time — for,  remember,  we  possess  emo- 
tional bodies  in  addition  to  the  physical — but  also  prac- 
tically all  those  who  have  lost  their  physical  bodies  by 
death  during  the  last  thirty  years.  Those  who  have  been 
"dead"  longer  than  this  have  usually  passed  into  the  still 
more  subtle  world  known  as  the  mental  or  heaven  world. 

Lastly,  there  is  found  a  very  small  number — contrasted 
with  the  millions  of  souls  receiving  their  education  on 
this  planet — of  the  Masters.  They  are  the  great  Teachers 
mentioned  so  frequently  in  theosophical  literature,  and 
it  is  they  who  have  charge  of  human  evolution. 

The  mental  or  heaven  world  referred  to  is  a  much 
larger  sphere  englobing  the  physical  earth  and  the  emo- 
tional world  and  yet  at  the  same  time  interpenetrating 
the  two.  It  may  be  reached  therefore,  not  by  moving  in 
space,  for  it  is  all  around  us,  but  by  learning  to  focus 
our  consciousness  in  the  mental  body  which  is  formed 
of  its  matter — a  very  difficult  feat. 

To  realize  again  the  close  relationship  between  the 
different  worlds,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  exceedingly 
delicate  matter  of  the  mental  world,  which  may  truly  be 
called  "mind  stuff/'  may  be  obtained  by  breaking  up  the 
finest  matter  of  the  emotional  world.  The  mental  world 
stands  in  the  same  relation  to  the  emotional  world  as  the 

[25] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

latter  does  to  the  physical.  Mental  matter  displays  a 
set  of  characteristics  all  its  own.  It  is  marked  chiefly 
by  its  instant  response  to  the  force  of  thought,  breaking 
into  cascades  of  restless,  changing  colors  with 
every  mental  impulse.  The  matter  is  most  luminous  and 
beautiful  as  a  result  of  its  ceaseless  vibrations.  To  quote 
the  words  of  one  investigator : 

"These  vibrations  give  rise  to  the  most  exquisite 
and  constantly  changing  colors,  waves  of  varying 
shades  like  the  rainbow  hues  in  mother-of-pearl, 
etherealized  and  brightened  to  an  indescribable  ex- 
tent, sweeping  over  and  through  every  form,  so  that 
each  presents  a  harmony  of  rippling,  living,  lumi- 
nous, delicate  colors,  including  many  not  known  to 
earth.  Words  can  give  no  idea  of  the  exquisite 
beauty  and  radiance  shown  in  combinations  of  this 
subtle  matter,  instinct  with  life  and  motion."1 

In  accordance  evidently  with  some  process  intimately 
connected  with  the  structural  formation  of  the  solar 
system,  the  matter  of  the  mental  world,  in  common  with 
that  of  the  emotional  and  of  the  physical  world,  is  dis- 
tinguished by  seven  grades  or  densities.  In  the  mental 
world,  however,  there  is  an  important  division  of  these 
different  grades  of  matter  into  two  groups,  the  four 
denser  grades  forming  collectively  what  is  called  the 
lower  mental  world,  the  three  subtler  the  higher  mental 
world. 

This  is  not  an  arbitrary  division ;  it  is  based  on  certain 
differences  in  the  matter  itself.  That  of  the  lower  mental 
world  responds  to  what  we  call  concrete  thoughts  and 
gives  rise  to  mental  images,  pictures  and  forms ;  that  of 
the  higher  mental  world  responds  to  our  abstract 
thoughts  by  sending  out  waves  of  force  in  all  directions. 

•','•1  '.•r.M'fl!, 
i  The  Ancient  Wisdom,  by  Annie  Besant,  p.  146. 

[26] 


THE  OTHEE  WORLDS 

There  are  almost  countless  intelligences  dwelling  in 
the  heaven  world.  It  is  the  realm  of  those  lofty  beings 
spoken  of  in  sacred  scriptures  as  angels  or  devas.  It  is 
also  the  true  home  of  the  Masters  and  their  pupils,  and 
here  it  is  that  they  do  most  of  their  beneficent  work  of 
helping  humanity  in  its  age-long  pilgrimage  towards 
perfection. 

The  souls  of  all  human  beings  are  here — a  vast  host 
of  egos — some  of  them  in  physical  incarnation,  others 
resting  and  growing  spiritually  between  one  physical  in- 
carnation and  the  next.  Since  the  heaven  world  is  all 
around  us,  a  soul  never  leaves  that  realm  of  bliss  when 
taking  an  incarnation  on  earth ;  it  merely  gathers  round 
itself,  to  form  bodies,  the  matter  of  the  lower  worlds 
with  which  it  wishes  to  come  into  contact,  and  then  trains 
these  young  bodies  to  respond  to  its  more  mature  powers. 
As  souls,  we  obtain  only  the  physical  body  through  the 
help  of  parents;  the  mental  and  emotional  bodies  we 
make  for  ourselves.  Thus  every  moment  of  every  day 
we,  as  souls,  dwell  in  the  heaven  world ;  we  are  as  much 
spirits  now  as  we  ever  shall  be,  though  it  is  true  that 
much  of  our  soul  consciousness  is  shut  away  by  the 
limitations  of  the  brain. 


[27] 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  AURA  AND  THE  SOUL 

The  existence  of  an  aura,  or  colored  mist  of  rarified 
matter  surrounding  the  human  body,  has  long  been 
known.  It  was  frequently  depicted  in  paintings  at  the 
time  of  the  Renaissance,  not  merely  as  a  halo  around  the 
head,  but  as  an  ovoid  in  the  midst  of  which  the  human 
form  is  standing.  We  have  collected  personally  over 
sixty  photographs  of  famous  paintings  now  in  Italian  art 
galleries,  in  which  the  aura  is  shown. 

The  aura  is  clearly  visible  to  the  trained  investigator, 
and  is  frequently  seen  in  part  by  many  as  a  glow  of  light 
above  the  heads  of  others.  All  human  beings,  and  to  a 
certain  extent  animals,  plants  and  even  minerals,  are 
surrounded  and  interpenetrated  by  a  cloud  of  delicate 
matter  drawn  from  the  etheric  part  of  the  physical  world 
and  from  the  emotional  and  mental  worlds.  This  mat- 
ter is  so  sensitive  that  it  responds  instantly  to  thoughts 
and  feelings,  and  as  it  does  so  its  vibrations  give  rise  to 
various  colors. 

In  a  developed  human  being  this  cloud  of  matter  has 
been  so  specialized  that  it  is  to  a  large  extent  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  matter  of  the  unseen  worlds,  in  the 
same  way  that  our  physical  bodies  are  distinct  objects. 
Further,  it  has  been  so  moulded  and  organized  by  the 
constant  play  of  thoughts  and  feelings,  that  it  has  been 
fashioned  into  subtle  bodies  by  means  of  which  a  man 
comes  into  contact  and  communication  with  the  invisible 
worlds. 

Analysis  has  shown  that  the  aura  is  composed  of  four 
distinct  layers: 

[28] 


THE  AUEA  AND  THE  SOUL 

(1)  A   striated   etheric  mist,   bluish-grey  in   color, 
which  extends  outwards  for  several  inches  on  all  sides 
from  the  surface  of  the  skin.    This  is  made  up  largely  of 
etheric    emanations   from   the   etheric    double    of    the 
physical  body. 

(2)  An  oval-shaped  form,  which  is  the  seat  of  all 
our  emotions,  passions,  feelings  and  sensations.    This  is 
the  emotional  body  formed  of  the  matter  of  the  emo- 
tional world. 

(3)  A  similarly  shaped  form,  in  which  all  our  con- 
crete,  every-day  thoughts  and  mental  pictures  are  gen- 
erated.    This  is  the  mental  body  formed  of  the  matter 
of  the  lower  mental  world. 

(4)  An  ovoid  form,  which  is  the  seat  of  all  our 
abstract  and  philosophical  thoughts  and  spiritual  aspira- 
tions.   This  is  the  causal  body  or  soul  body,  formed  of 
the  matter  of  the  higher  mental  world. 

It  is  important  to  remember  that  these  various 
bodies,  including  the  physical,  are  not  separated  like 
pearls  upon  a  string,  but  that  they  occupy  the  same 
space,  the  subtler  interpenetrating  the  denser  ones,  the 
whole  forming  one  compact  working  unit  we  call  a 
human  being. 

The  etheric  double,  which  should  not  be  confused  with 
the  etheric  emanations  from  it,  is  an  exact  counterpart 
of  the  physical  body,  and  as  it  is  faintly  luminous  and 
bluish-grey  in  color  and  extends  out  beyond  the  surface 
of  the  body  about  one  fourth  of  an  inch,  it  is  sometimes 
visible  to  ordinary  sight.  It  permeates  the  whole  phys- 
ical body  and  its  function  is  to  conduct  the  different 
currents  of  electricity,  magnetism  and  vitality,  which 
circulate  everywhere  throughout  the  tissues. 

The  old  idea,  common  a  generation  or  so  ago,  that 
there  was  a  " vital  force,"  was  really  nearer  the  truth 
than  many  modern  theories,  for  when  one  has  developed 

[29] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

the  power  to  see  etherically,  streams  of  rosy-colored  par- 
ticles may  be  observed  flowing  down  and  around  each 
nerve  from  the  brain,  until,  when  they  reach  the  skin, 
they  are  forced  out  into  the  surrounding  air.  This  out- 
rush  of  vitality  particles  from  the  nerve  terminals  in 
the  skin  gives  a  striated  appearance  to  the  etheric  at- 
mosphere surrounding  the  body,  and  because  the  straight 
or  drooped  arrangement  of  the  striations  indicates 
whether  a  man  is  well  or  ill,  it  has  frequently  been 
called  the  "health  aura." 

The  rosy-colored  particles  are  charged  with  a  force 
known  as  "vitality,"  which  is  distinct  from  electricity, 
but  is  derived  from  the  sun,  for  on  bright  days  the  air 
is  filled  with  colorless  molecules  charged  with  this  force, 
as  if  with  myriads  of  dancing  sparks  of  light.  To  be  of 
use  to  the  physical  body,  however,  these  colorless  mole- 
cules must  first  be  drawn  into  the  etheric  double  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  spleen,  specialized  into  rosy-colored 
particles  which  are  then  sent  on  their  journey  along  the 
nerves  and  through  the  tissues  of  the  body. 

The  emotional  body  is  larger  than  its  physical  com- 
panion and  on  an  average  extends  some  eighteen  inches 
out  on  all  sides  from  the  latter.  The  emotional  body  of  a 
primitive  man  is  a  vaguely-outlined,  indefinite  cloud  of 
matter,  glowing  dully  with  muddy  colors,  but  that  of  an 
advanced  man  is  a  sharply  defined  ovoid,  marked  by 
definite  color  areas  and  bands,  each  one  of  which  indi- 
cates an  habitual  trend  of  passion,  feeling  or  emotion. 

Despite  the  oval  shape  of  the  emotional  body,  it  is 
interesting  to  know  that  in  the  emotional  world  we  ap- 
pear almost  exactly  as  we  do  physically  and  are  there- 
fore easily  recognizable.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
about  90%  of  the  densest  matter  of  the  emotional  body 
is  condensed  within  the  limits  of  the  physical  form,  ap- 
parently being  held  there  by  some  force  of  attraction, 
so  that  the  oval  form  is  only  faintly  indicated,  the 

[30] 


THE  AUEA  AND  THE  SOUL 

denser  counterpart  of  the  physical  body  within  being 
most  prominent  and  clearly  visible  in  every  detail. 

Whenever  a  strong  emotion  or  feeling  sweeps  over  a 
man,  the  emotional  body  is  stirred  to  intense  activity  and 
from  its  vibrating  matter  there  flash  out  those  colors 
which  are  always  associated  with  that  emotion  or  feel- 
ing. Thus  anger  appears  as  scarlet,  selfishness  as  a  hard 
brown,  fear  as  a  livid  grey,  sympathy  as  a  bright  apple 
green,  love  as  a  tint  of  rose,  devotion  as  blue,  and  so 
on.  The  study  of  these  colors  and  their  correspondences 
to  the  changes  of  consciousness  is  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting of  the  many  aspects  of  Theosophy. 

The  mental  body  is  usually  of  the  same  size  as  the 
emotional,  both  of  them  growing  in  size  as  we  advance 
along  the  path  of  evolution.  With  definite  progress  in 
the  power  to  think  the  mental  body  becomes  more  highly 
organized  and  therefore  more  definite  in  outline.  It  is 
exceedingly  luminous  and  radiant  with  clear,  beautiful 
colors,  especially  in  an  advanced  type  of  human  being, 
each  color  area  indicating  an  habitual  thought  attitude. 

The  vibrations  which  accompany  intellectual  activity 
emit  a  yellow  light,  which  varies  in  hue  from  a  strong 
orange  yellow  in  a  commonplace,  selfish  type  of  mind, 
to  the  beautiful  primrose  yellow  of  the  philosophical 
mind  of  an  advanced  man.  All  our  mental  activity 
which  can  be  expressed  in  images  and  pictures  arises 
here,  for  the  mental  body  is  the  conscious  instrument 
used  in  generating  concrete  thoughts. 

Lastly  we  come  to  the  true  man,  the  soul,  of  whom  it 
is  said  in  an  ancient  scripture : 

"He  is  not  born  nor  doth  he  die,  nor  having  been 
ceaseth  he  any  more  to  be.  Unborn,  perpetual, 
eternal  and  ancient,  he  is  not  slain  when  the  body 
is  slaughtered." 

This  is  the  individuality,  the  soul,  the  ego,  who  sur- 
[31] 


;  THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 


vives  all  bodily  changes,  stores  up  all  experiences  and 
remembers  all  events.  It  is  our  higher  Self,  the  source 
of  that  sense  of  "I"  which  is  always  in  the  background 
of  all  our  thinking. 

The  form  of  the  causal  body  is  ovoid — in  fact  it  is 
the  mould  upon  which  the  mental  and  emotional  bodies 
are  fashioned — and  while  in  the  savage  it  resembles  an 
empty  bubble  because  undeveloped,  yet  in  the  advanced 
man  it  is  marvellously  beautiful,  flashing  with  radiant 
colors  and  glowing  with  a  living  light  all  its  own.  Words 
are  powerless  to  describe  it ;  it  must  be  seen  to  be  known. 

The  growth  of  the  soul  is  of  almost  inconceivable 
slowness  during  the  early  stages  of  human  evolution,  be- 
cause the  only  experiences  upon  which  the  soul  can 
thrive  are  fine  emotions,  inspiring  thoughts  and  unselfish 
aspirations.  Naturally  these  are  almost  unknown  while 
man  is  still  learning  the  crude  lessons  of  physical  exist- 
ence, but  they  come  later  when  he  commences  to  turn 
his  attention  to  higher  things.  This  is  the  enormous  ad- 
vantage of  living  a  pure  and  noble  life,  dedicated  to  un- 
selfish service — it  gives  to  the  soul,  the  real  man,  that 
which  stimulates  his  growth  in  a  most  wonderful  man- 
ner and  hastens  his  journey  to  the  splendid  goal  of 
human  evolution. 

Whenever  we  think  or  feel,  our  invisible  bodies  vibrate 
strongly,  and  as  they  do  so  they  produce  two  effects  in 
the  atmosphere  of  the  subtle  worlds : 

(1)  They  set  up  waves  which  radiate  out  from  us 
in  all  directions,  not  unlike  circular  water  waves  on  the 
surface  of  a  pond  after  the  fall  of  a  pebble,  but  it  should 
be  remembered  that  thought  waves  move  out  as  rapidly 
expanding  spheres  of  which  we  form  the  centre,  not 
merely  as  increasing  circles.  The  distance  to  which  these 
waves  penetrate  is  proportionate  to  the  intensity  of  the 
thought  or  emotion  which  created  them ;  a  strong  thought 

[32] 


THE  AUEA  AND  THE  SOUL 

sends  out  a  powerful  wave,  a  weak  thought  a  feeble 
wave  which  soon  flickers  out. 

These  thought  and  emotion  waves  affect  more  or  less 
the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  everyone  they  touch,  and 
tend  to  stir  up  similar  but  not  exact  reproductions  of 
the  impulse  which  started  them  on  their  journey.  Thus 
a  feeling  of  depression  over  some  personal  failure  will 
tend  to  reproduce  similar  feelings  of  depression  in  the 
emotional  bodies  of  many  people  within  a  certain  radius, 
but  each  person  so  affected  will  associate  the  depression 
with  some  trouble  which  he  has  experienced,  and  not 
with  the  trouble  of  the  sender.  In  the  same  way  a 
strong  thought  of  joy  will  cause  many  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  to  feel  joyous,  though  they  know  not  why, 
usually  connecting  the  emotion  which  surges  into  their 
thoughts  with  some  happy  event  which  perhaps  has 
happened  not  long  before. 

(2)  A  strong  emotion  or  thought  actually  builds  a 
little  form  in  the  subtle  matter  of  the  unseen  worlds, 
and  projects  it  with  the  rapidity  of  a  rifle  bullet  to  the 
object  or  person  with  whom  the  thought  was  connected. 
This  thought-form  may  persist  for  many  hours  or  even 
days,  depending  upon  the  intensity  of  the  original  im- 
pulse, and  its  one  function  in  life  is  to  impress  upon  the 
subtle  bodies  of  the  distant  person  the  exact  thought 
or  emotion  which  brought  it  into  existence.  This  once 
accomplished  and  its  force  discharged,  it  melts  away 
again  into  the  sea  of  surrounding  matter  as  a  cloud  melts 
into  the  blue  sky,  but  for  the  time  being  it  was  almost  a 
living  thing,  charged  with  thought  energy. 

If  the  thought  or  emotion  is  personal  and  not  con- 
nected with  another,  the  thought-form  generated  lingers 
around  its  creator,  and  during  some  moment  when  the 
consciousness  of  the  latter  is  passive,  discharges  its 
energy  upon  him.  Thus  many  of  the  thoughts  which 

[33] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

tempt  us  are  those  which  we  ourselves  generated  a  few 
hours  or  days  before. 

These  facts  indicate  how  we  may  be  of  much  service 
to  others  by  the  assistance  and  encouragement  we  can 
give  them  with  our  thoughts.  Furthermore  it  warns  us 
to  be  on  our  guard  as  to  the  kind  of  thoughts  we  per- 
mit our  minds  to  think  and  to  the  quality  of  emotions 
we  allow  ourselves  to  feel.  For  our  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings create  a  very  real  personal  atmosphere  through  the 
influence  of  which  we  help  or  hinder  those  with  whom 
we  come  in  contact. 

Whenever  we  go  to  sleep,  we  withdraw  from  our 
physical  bodies  and  move  about  in  the  unseen  world 
using  our  emotional  bodies.  All  people  are  not  equally 
conscious,  however,  while  their  physical  bodies  are 
asleep,  and  the  extent  to  which  we  are  aware  of  the  fact 
that  we  are  in  an  unseen  world  depends  primarily  upon 
the  stage  of  growth  we  have  reached  as  souls  and  second- 
arily upon  our  physical  knowledge  of  the  existence  of 
that  world. 

The  consciousness  of  the  densely  ignorant,  primitive 
man  is  so  undeveloped,  that,  during  the  hours  of  sleep 
when  he  is  no  longer  experiencing  the  stir  and  rush  of 
physical  life,  he  is  practically  unconscious  as  he  floats 
in  his  cloudy  emotional  body  just  above  his  slumbering 
physical  body.  In  a  little  more  developed  type,  the  man 
is  actively  conscious  in  his  emotional  body  while  his 
physical  body  sleeps,  but  he  knows  nothing  of  the  un- 
seen world,  as  he  is  completely  absorbed  in  thinking  over 
his  own  petty  plans  and  dreaming  about  the  objects 
of  his  desires.  At  a  still  further  stage  of  development, 
glimpses  of  the  outside  emotional  world  are  caught 
now  and  then,  and  such  a  man  may  move  some  distance 
away  from  his  slumbering  body  in  search  of  these  half- 
glimpsed  adventures  and  scenes. 

A  thoughtful,  cultured  man,  however,  especially  one 

[34] 


THE  AUBA  AND  THE  SOUL 

who  has  had  some  training  as  an  occultist,  is  very  active 
in  the  emotional  world,  meeting  many  people,  visiting 
distant  places  and  going  through  interesting  experiences. 
If  willing,  he  may  be  a  power  there  for  good,  teaching, 
helping  and  protecting  those  who  know  much  less  than 
he.  This  is  the  beneficent  work  of  those  known  as  the 
"Invisible  Helpers." 

Those  whom  we  mistakenly  call  "dead"  are  quite 
active  in  the  emotional  world  for  several  years  after  the 
death  of  their  physical  bodies,  and  it  is  possible  for  us 
at  night  to  meet  and  talk  with  them.  Death  is  a  separa- 
tion only  in  our  imagination,  for  we  are  with  those  who 
have  passed  on  and  whom  we  love,  every  night  of  our 
lives.  W  p^~jvw^4  \s**td-  ** 

Sometimes  when  we  awake  in  the  morning  w< 
member  with  singular  vividness  some  scene,  experience 
or  conversation.  Such  a  dream  is  usually  a  memory  of 
something  which  has  actually  happened  to  us  while  out 
of  our  physical  bodies.  We  should  remember,  however, 
that  we  may  be  very  active  in  the  emotional  world  at 
night  and  yet  retain  not  a  single  memory  of  what  we 
have  done  when  we  awake  in  the  morning.  This  is  en- 
tirely due  to  the  insensitiveness  of  the  brain. 

The  usual  dreams,  which  are  grotesque,  fantastic  and 
illogical,  arise  spontaneously  in  the  brain  itself  while 
we  are  away  from  it.  They  are  usually  fragments  of 
pictures  or  experiences  automatically  reproduced  by 
the  brain  cells  during  the  absence  of  any  guiding  intel- 
ligence, and  their  very  absurdity  shows  that  the  brain 
is  merely  an  instrument  of  consciousness,  not  an  origin- 
ator of  thought. 

It  is  helpful  if  we  clearly  understand  that  our  waking 
consciousness — that  is,  the  totality  of  the  thoughts  and 
feelings  of  which  we  are  aware  while  awake — is  only  a 
small  portion  of  our  whole  consciousness.  In  fact,  our 
waking  consciousness  is  made  up  of  only  those  overtones 

[35] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

arising  in  the  grey  matter  of  the  brain  by  sympathetic 
response  to  the  more  powerful  vibrations  of  the  emo- 
tional and  mental  bodies,  the  seats  respectively  of  our 
emotional  nature  and  mind.  In  the  great  majority  of 
cases,  because  of  general  undevelopment,  lack  of  training 
and  care  in  diet,  the  nervous  tissue  is  not  very  responsive, 
and  as  a  result  of  the  very  limitations  of  the  brain  as  a 
transmitting  instrument,  we  are  aware  in  our  waking 
consciousness  of  only  a  small  portion  of  all  our  emotions 
and  thoughts. 


CHAPTER  IV 

WHAT   HAPPENS   AFTER   DEATH 

Death  is  an  episode  not  a  tragedy ;  it  is  liberation  from 
the  physical  body  and  not  the  annihilation  of  the  con- 
sciousness. Though  death  may  take  from  us  our  out- 
worn or  outgrown  bodies,  it  grants  us  the  wider  freedom 
of  the  unseen  worlds,  and  to  those  who  know,  death 
has  no  terrors — not  one.  Instead  of  being  a  dark-robed 
King  of  Terrors,  death  is  a  bright  Presence  bearing  the 
blessed  key  which  unlocks  the  prison  house  of  the  flesh ; 
and  it  would  be  well  for  us  to  learn  the  truth  about  what 
happens  after  death ;  and  then  to  cast  aside  for  ever  all 
grief  and  mourning — twin  offspring  of  ignorance. 

There  is  a  foolish  aphorism  current  among  us  that  all 
men  are  equal  in  the  grave — king  and  beggar,  sage  and 
fool.  This  is  perhaps  true  of  their  physical  bodies,  but 
it  is  a  mistake  so  far  as  the  men  themselves  are  con- 
cerned. We  are  unchanged  by  death;  our  powers  of 
consciousness  may  indeed  become  somewhat  greater  and 
the  extent  of  our  vision  and  perception  larger,  but  we  are 
the  same  people  after  death  as  before — mentally,  morally 
and  spiritually.  Death  cannot  transform  us  into  some- 
thing different  just  because  it  strikes  away  the  physical 
instrument,  the  body,  we  have  used  on  earth.  It  cannot 
suddenly  convert  us  into  prayerful  saints  or  all-wise 
spirits;  such  changes  can  only  come  about  during  the 
long  course  of  evolution.  After  death  we  cling  to  the 
same  follies,  believe  the  same  half-truths,  display  the 
same  prejudices  and  associate  with  the  same  sort  of 
people  as  we  did  while  in  physical  incarnation. 

[37] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

True,  we  know  a  little  more,  because  we  are  surrounded 
by  the  phenomena  of  a  larger  world,  and  we  are  at  least 
convinced  that  death  does  not  end  all,  because  we  our- 
selves have  survived  it,  but  on  the  other  hand  few  people 
are  careful  observers,  and  so  the  knowledge  we  obtain 
after  death  is  usually  general  and  not  detailed,  and 
further,  it  is  often  distorted  by  our  beliefs  and 
prejudices. 

The  act  of  dying  and  of  going  to  sleep  are  similar 
except  in  a  few  particulars.  In  both  cases  we  withdraw 
from  the  physical  body,  but  when  we  go  to  sleep  the 
etheric  matter  in  the  physical  body  remains  unchanged, 
and  therefore  while  we  are  absent,  the  currents  of 
vitality  play  through  the  body  and  keep  it  alive.  But 
when  we  die,  the  etheric  double  goes  out  with  us,  the 
currents  of  vitality,  which  flow  in  ether,  cease,  and  the 
physical  body  becomes  cold  and  motionless,  even  though 
all  its  organs  may  be  unimpaired.  As  soon  as  the  etheric 
matter  withdraws,  the  slow  disintegration  of  the  cells 
commences  and  decay  sets  in. 

As  we  withdraw  from  the  physical  body  at  the  time 
of  death  we  are  surrounded  by  the  etheric  matter  which 
came  out  with  us.  This  envelops  us  like  a  fog  and  pre- 
vents us  from  obtaining  even  a  glimpse  of  the  astral 
world  which  surrounds  us  with  its  multifarious  activities 
and  interests.  As  a  result,  most  of  us  during  this  period, 
which  lasts  several  hours,  are  entirely  unconscious  of 
our  condition  and  environment. 

After  a  time  this  etheric  matter  slowly  slips  away  and 
we  become  more  and  more  aware  of  the  emotional  world 
of  which  we  are  now  a  conscious  inhabitant.  Since 
every  physical  object  is  duplicated  in  emotional  matter, 
we  are  apt  at  first,  particularly  if  we  are  not  very  ob- 
servant, to  notice  very  little  difference  between  this  new 
world  and  the  physical  earth.  Indeed,  it  is  difficult  at 
times  to  convince  some  people  that  they  are  really 

[38] 


WHAT  HAPPENS  AFTER  DEATH 

"dead,"  for  they  are  frequently  possessed  of  such  fan- 
tastic ideas  as  to  what  ought  to  happen  but  which  does 
not  happen  after  death,  that  it  takes  several  days  to 
persuade  them  that  they  have  really  lost  their  physical 
bodies. 

After  a  few  attempts,  however,  to  eat  and  walk  and 
talk  as  they  were  accustomed  to  do  on  earth,  these  ob- 
stinate people  begin  to  realize  that  something  is  wrong. 
They  eat  the  food  of  which  they  think  and  therefore 
immediately  see  before  them,  but  for  some  reason  it 
has  no  taste  and  does  not  give  them  any  satisfaction. 
They  have  still  to  learn  that  the  astral  body  does  not 
require  food.  They  walk  about  among  their  old  haunts 
and  homes  but  find  themselves  unable  to  move  certain 
objects  as  before.  They  have  still  to  find  out  that  a 
person  living  in  the  unseen  world  cannot  move  physical 
objects  merely  by  trying  to  lift  their  astral  counterparts. 

They  talk  to  others  they  meet  and  are  very  much 
puzzled  at  first  to  notice  that  while  they  can  converse 
with  some  people  at  any  hour,  other  persons  will  only 
pay  attention  to  them  about  eight  hours  out  of  twenty- 
four.  During  the  rest  of  the  time  these  peculiar  men 
and  women — for  as  such  they  are  considered  by  the 
obstinate  "dead"  people  whose  experiences  we  are 
studying — do  not  respond  to  anything  which  is  said. 
Our  friends  in  the  emotional  world  have  still  to  discover 
that  while  they  can  mingle  and  speak  at  any  time  with 
other  people  who  are  also  * '  dead, ' '  they  cannot  gain  the 
attention  of  those  in  physical  incarnation  during  the 
hours  when  the  latter  are  awake,  that  is,  when  the 
consciousness  is  focussed  in  the  physical  brain.  Only 
when  the  physical  bodies  of  people  in  incarnation  go  to 
sleep,  are  they  released  from  the  limitations  of  the 
brain  and  therefore  responsive  to  astral  surroundings. 

As  we  gain  more  experience  in  this  life  we  are  leading 
after  death,  we  learn  many  other  important  lessons  and 

[39] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

facts.  For  some  time  we  are  apt  to  believe  it  necessary 
to  walk  about  as  we  did  on  earth,  to  regard  a  door  as 
something  to  be  opened  before  we  can  pass  through, 
and  to  think  of  walls  as  being  impassable  barriers.  After 
a  time  we  find  that  we  can  pass  through  any  of  these 
seemingly  solid  things  without  the  slightest  difficulty, 
and  that,  when  we  desire  to  go  to  a  distant  place,  there 
is  not  the  slightest  necessity  for  walking  there.  All  we 
need  do  is  to  will  strongly  to  go  to  that  place,  there  is 
a  sense  of  motion,  and  we  find  ourselves  there. 

One  of  the  most  common  dreams  is  that  of  flying — 
either  of  moving  through  the  air  or  skimming  along  the 
ground,  taking  only  a  running  step  now  and  then.  By 
questioning  audiences  in  many  cities,  it  has  been  found 
that  about  25  to  40  per  cent  of  intelligent  people  have 
dreams  of  this  description.  Such  dreams  of  flying  are 
merely  indications  that  we  are  learning  how  to  move 
about  in  the  way  which  is  normal  in  the  emotional  world. 

We  also  realize  after  death  that  every  uncontrolled 
passion  and  appetite  of  the  ignoble  sort,  which  we  al- 
lowed to  fasten  upon  us  during  our  life  on  earth,  is 
something  for  which  we  must  now  pay  the  price.  The 
cravings,  which  we  were  accustomed  to  gratify  without 
question,  can  no  longer  be  satisfied  because  our  physical 
bodies  are  gone.  All  the  passions  and  desires  are  still 
as  strong  as  before,  and  there  is  nothing  to  do  now  but 
to  live  them  down  and  let  them  die  out  for  want  of 
gratification.  We  bitterly  regret  that  we  did  not  know 
this  before  death,  because  the  bite  of  an  unsatisfied  de- 
sire is  now  far  stronger  than  it  was  when  we  were  liv- 
ing in  a  physical  body,  for  this  is  the  world  of  feeling. 
Any  hell  that  is  to  be  found  after  death  is  one  which  we 
make  for  ourselves  by  what  we  do  and  feel  and  think 
while  on  earth — we  are  not  punished  by  any  external 
power,  we  punish  ourselves. 

We  also  see  how  utterly  wrong  it  is  to  give  way  to 

[40] 


WHAT  HAPPENS  AFTEE  DEATH 

uncontrolled  grief  for  those  who  are  "dead,"  for  now 
we,  who  have  lost  our  physical  bodies  by  death,  are 
continually  surrounded  by  the  almost  unbearable 
thoughts  of  grief  and  passionate  longing  created  by  our 
loving  but  misguided  friends  who  are  mourning  our 
death.  Strangely  enough,  though  these  same  friends  are 
with  us  and  talk  with  us  while  their  physical  bodies  are 
asleep,  just  as  soon  as  they  awake  in  the  morning,  they 
revert  to  the  old  delusion  that  they  have  lost  us,  and 
think  thoughts  of  bitter  sorrow  all  day  long.  "We  stand 
beside  them  and  cry  out  that  we  are  there,  but  they  do 
not  hear  us  or  even  feel  our  presence,  because  their 
nervous  systems  are  so  insensitive  and  their  attention  is 
so  fully  directed  to  worldly  affairs.  They  make  us,  the 
dead,  very  unhappy  and  miserable  by  their  illogical  and 
foolish  attitude,  and  we  can  really  only  gain  relief  from 
this  intolerable  condition  when  they  begin  to  forget  us 
and  think  of  other  things.  Be  under  no  delusion  that 
grief  or  mourning  gratify  the  "dead;"  it  only  makes 
them  miserable.  Why  cannot  people  realize  that  all  such 
sorrowing  is  wrong,  that  uncontrolled  grief  makes  life 
a  hell  for  us  who  are  living  in  the  emotional  world,  and 
that  there  is  really  no  separation  since  those  who  love 
us  are  with  us  every  night  while  their  physical  bodies 
are  asleep  and  resting.  God  did  not  design  this  world 
to  be  a  torture  chamber — the  source  of  all  sorrow  is 
ignorance,  if  we  only  knew  it. 

As  the  years  roll  on — counting  time  as  is  done  on 
earth — we  find  that  more  radiant  and  beautiful  regions 
of  this  emotional  world  unfold  before  our  gaze,  and 
we  are  startled  to  discover  that  we  have  been  surrounded 
by  these  glorious  regions  all  the  time  but  did  not  know 
it,  because  of  a  peculiarity  of  the  emotional  body.  It 
seems  that  it  can  only  respond  to  the  vibrations  of  the 
emotional  world  outside  it,  according  to  the  degree  of 
sensitiveness  of  the  matter  on  its  surface.  If  this  surface 

[41] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

layer  is  coarse,  we  sense  only  slow  vibrations  such  as  are 
characteristic  of  the  lower  levels  of  the  emotional  world ; 
if  fine,  then  the  swifter  vibrations  of  the  higher  levels 
will  bring  their  messages  to  our  consciousness. 

We  are  told  that  a  curious  rearrangement  of  the  mat- 
ter of  the  emotional  body  took  place  immediately  after 
our  death.  By  an  instinctive  effort  of  the  emotional 
body,  the  matter  composing  it  was  thrown  into  concentric 
layers,  the  coarsest  on  the  outside,  the  finest  of  all  within, 
the  various  other  grades  lying  between  the  two.  This 
arrangement  was  unnecessary  and  we  could  have  stopped 
it  had  we  known  that  it  was  taking  place,  but  we  did 
not  know,  and  so  the  emotional  body  instinctively  sorted 
out  the  matter  in  this  way,  thereby  prolonging  its 
existence. 

This  rearrangement  caused  us  to  be  conscious  only  on 
that  level  of  the  emotional  world  corresponding  in 
density  to  the  matter  on  the  surface  of  the  emotional 
body.  Hence,  because  our  life  on  earth  was  not  all  that 
it  might  have  been,  we  did  not  have  a  very  high  opinion 
at  first  of  this  emotional  world,  because  we  were  limited 
to  a  rather  low  level  for  a  while.  In  fact,  some  of  us 
had  rather  an  uncomfortable  time  of  it  during  the  first 
few  months,  because  we  had  built  a  considerable  amount 
of  coarse  matter  into  oar  emotional  bodies  by  unwhole- 
some habits  and  impure  diet.  Finally  this  wore  away 
and  we  became  conscious  of  very  much  more  pleasant 
regions. 

This  opening  up  of  new  vistas  of  beauty  and  enjoy- 
ment is  continually  taking  place  with  every  person  as 
the  coarser  particles  are  gradually  eliminated  from  the 
emotional  body.  And  after  we  have  lived  in  this  world 
several  years,  our  interest  in  worldly  affairs  wanes,  be- 
cause there  are  so  many  more  interesting  things  to  at- 
tend to  here.  While  we  still  love  the  people  who  are  yet 
in  physical  incarnation,  nevertheless  we  realize  sensibly 

[42] 


WHAT  HAPPENS  AFTER  DEATH 

that  they  must  live  their  lives  as  we  lived  ours,  and 
that  we  really  only  hinder  them  by  trying  to  interfere. 
Further,  as  we  become  conscious  of  the  more  beautiful 
levels  of  the  emotional  world,  the  duplicates  of  physical 
objects  gradually  become  less  prominent,  and  so  little  by 
little  we  lose  touch  with  earth  life  and  turn  our  thoughts 
to  higher  and  more  important  things.  "We  become  more 
introspective  and  begin  to  learn  the  value  of  our  own 
thoughts. 

Eventually  there  comes  a  time  when  we  slowly  awaken 
to  a  new  glory  of  life  and  color  which  is  beyond  all  words 
to  describe,  and  so  intense  is  our  bliss  that  it  does  not 
even  interest  us  to  know  that  we  have  now  cast  off  the 
useless  emotional  body — which  speedily  disintegrates — 
and  are  living  in  our  radiant  mental  body  in  the  heaven 
world.  In  the  words  of  one  who  has  learned  to  lift  the 
consciousness,  even  while  functioning  in  the  brain,  to 
this  supernal  world,  a  man  who  withdraws  into  the 
heaven  world  "awakens  to  a  sense  of  joy  unspeakable, 
of  bliss  immeasurable,  of  peace  that  passeth  understand- 
ing. Softest  melodies  are  breathing  around  him,  tender- 
est  hues  greet  his  opening  eyes,  the  very  air  seems  music 
and  color,  his  whole  being  is  suffused  with  light  and 
harmony.  Then  through  the  golden  haze  dawn  sweetly 
the  faces  loved  on  earth,  etherealized  into  beauty  which 
expresses  their  noblest,  loveliest  emotions,  unmarred  by 
the  troubles  and  passions  of  the  lower  worlds.  Who  may 
tell  the  bliss  of  that  awakening,  the  glory  of  that  first 
dawning  of  the  heaven  world  ? ' ' 

Many  centuries  may  be  spent  in  this  world  of  happi- 
ness engaged  in  assimilating  the  experiences  gained  on 
earth  and  transmuting  their  essence  into  wisdom  and 
faculty.  This  world  is  our  true  home  and  here  we  enjoy 
the  fruits  gathered  during  our  visit  to  earth.  The  time 
spent  here  is  a  period  of  inner  growth,  and  the  food  we 
consume  is  the  harvest  of  good  thoughts,  emotions  and 

[43] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

aspirations,  which  we  sowed  during  the  earth  life.  The 
heaven  life  is  one  of  intense,  unalloyed  happiness,  with- 
out even  the  shadow  of  a  sorrow. 

After  a  period  in  the  lower  heaven  world,  the  length 
of  which  is  determined  by  the  stage  of  evolution  we  have 
reached  as  souls,  and  the  amount  of  experience  we  gained 
during  our  life  on  earth,  the  time  comes  when  we  have 
thought  over  every  fragment  of  experience,  carried  out 
every  spiritual  aspiration,  lived  through  every  joy,  ac- 
complished everything  possible  in  this  world,  of  which 
we  can  conceive.  At  that  moment  the  now  useless  mental 
body  drops  away  and  our  consciousness  suddenly  ex- 
pands to  that  of  the  mature  soul,  our  true  inner  Self. 
Then  we  realize  our  divine  nature,  then  we  remember  the 
long  path  we  have  trodden  to  gain  our  present  stage  of 
evolution,  then  we  recall  the  past  lives  we  have  lived  on 
earth,  for  the  causal  body  is  the  storehouse  of  all  mem- 
ories and  it  never  forgets  though  the  brain  and  lower 
mind  may  be  ignorant  of  the  past. 

For  a  varying  length  of  time  we  live  in  this  condition 
of  pure  soul  consciousness.  The  savage  has  but  a  flash 
of  this  lofty  condition;  an  advanced  philosopher  may 
enjoy  this  state  for  years  or  even  centuries.  But  with 
all,  the  time  inevitably  comes  when  there  is  awakened  a 
thirst  for  more  experience,  for  activity,  for  increased 
knowledge  of  details  such  as  may  only  ~be  gained  on 
earth,  and  with  that  dawning  desire,  the  soul  turns  its 
consciousness  once  more  towards  the  lower  worlds.  First 
it  draws  round  itself  a  cloud  of  matter  of  the  lower 
mental  world  out  of  which,  during  the  childhood  of  its 
future  physical  body,  it  fashions  a  mind  body;  then  it 
gathers  to  itself  a  cloud  of  matter  of  the  emotional  world 
which  later  is  moulded  into  an  emotional  body;  lastly 
it  becomes  linked  to  an  infant  body  provided  by  parents 
with  whom  the  soul  has  formed  ties  in  previous  lives  on 
earth.  And  thus  it  is  that  a  new  incarnation  commences 

[44] 


WHAT  HAPPENS  AFTER  DEATH 

as  the  child  is  born,  a  child  with  its  as  yet  unorganized 
emotional  and  mental  bodies,  through  which,  as  the 
years  advance,  the  mature  soul  behind  is  able  ever  more 
and  more  to  manifest  its  powers. 


[45] 


CHAPTER  V 

GROWTH    THROUGH   REINCARNATION 

One  of  the  most  illuminative  and  helpful  of  the  teach- 
ings of  Theosophy  is  that  this  world,  with  all  its  ac- 
tivities and  interests,  is  in  reality  a  great  educational 
institution  in  which  millions  of  souls  and  countless  other 
creatures  are  receiving  the  instruction  which  they  need 
for  their  growth.  We  learn  that  there  are  many  more 
human  beings  connected  with  the  earth  than  ever  ap- 
pear in  incarnation  at  any  one  time,  but  that  all  are 
enabled  to  gain  the  experiences  they  need  by  making 
a  short  visit  periodically  to  this  world,  thereby  coming 
in  contact  with  the  lessons  taught  by  civilization. 

Thus  each  life  spent  here  is  merely  a  day  in  the 
greater  soul  life,  and  each  time  we  return  we  resume  our 
lessons  about  where  we  left  off  before,  aided,  of  course, 
by  what  we  have  gained  by  home  study — for  heaven  is 
the  home  of  the  soul.  The  savage  is  commencing  his 
education  in  the  kindergarten  of  life;  the  spiritually 
developed  man  is  nearing  the  time  of  graduation  from 
this  world  school;  the  rest  of  us  are  standing  on  some 
step  between  these  two  extremes.  We  have  gleaned 
much  experience  from  hundreds  of  lives  in  the  past — 
that  is  why  we  are  far  more  advanced  than  the  savage ; 
and  in  the  future,  new  lives  will  help  us  complete  and 
round  out  our  education. 

This  view  of  human  life  and  of  the  growth  of  the 
soul  is  called  reincarnation  or  rebirth,  and  in  a  more  or 
less  pure  form  is  the  working  philosophy  of  some  650 
millions  of  human  beings  today.  As  a  philosophical  con- 
ception it  is  hoary  with  age,  and  has  apparently  held 

[46] 


GROWTH  THROUGH  REINCARNATION 

the  attention  by  its  logic  and  inherent  reasonableness,  of 
many  of  the  great  leaders  of  thought  during  all  periods 
of  history. 

Yet  many  persons  when  they  first  hear  of  reincarna- 
tion, reject  the  idea  without  any  consideration  and  ex- 
claim :  "What  a  horrible  belief !  I  am  sure  I  don't  want 
to  come  back  again ! ' '  And  for  some  reason  such  people, 
who  are  otherwise  sensible  enough,  seem  to  think  that 
their  dislike  of  reincarnation  proves  it  untrue  and  un- 
necessary. 

But  does  dislike  of  teaching  make  it  unnecessary? 
Does  the  rebellion  of  the  small  boy  who  is  kept  by  his 
parents  at  school  make  his  education  any  less  essential? 
In  later  years  does  not  this  same  small  boy  look  back 
upon  his  rebellious  feelings  with  a  smile  of  amusement 
at  his  shortsightedness  ?  And  may  we  not  as  souls,  look 
back  upon  this  time  when  we  are  seeking  to  avoid  the 
priceless  lessons  of  life,  and  smile  at  our  own  ignorance 
and  lack  of  understanding  of  the  purpose  of  existence? 

Are  we  actually  opposed  to  reincarnation  as  such? 
Let  us  suppose  that  this  earth  were  a  glorious  paradise 
in  which  sorrow,  suffering  and  trouble  were  unknown. 
When  death  claimed  us,  would  we  not  be  overcome  with 
despair  at  leaving  this  land  of  bliss?  If  someone  said 
that  rebirth  was  a  possibility,  we  would  leap  at  the 
chance  and  offer  premiums  to  get  back  to  earth !  If  we 
are  perfectly  frank  with  ourselves,  we  must  admit  that 
we  are  not  objecting  to  reincarnation  merely  as  a  process 
of  being  born  again,  but  that  what  we  wish  to  avoid  are 
the  many  trials,  difficulties  and  sorrows  of  physical 
existence.  We  want  to  escape  experience,  not  rebirth! 

Yet  those  very  experiences  which  we  seek  to  escape, 
those  very  sorrows  and  difficulties  and  trials,  have  taught 
us  some  of  the  grandest  and  deepest  lessons  of  life,  and 
have  forced  us  to  awaken  many  a  power  of  consciousness 
and  will,  that  otherwise  would  never  have  been  stim- 

[47] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

ulated  to  activity.  The  hardships  of  civilization  have 
made  us  what  we  are,  while  ease  and  luxury  only  sap  our 
courage  and  deaden  our  initiative.  A  person  who  has 
never  suffered  or  failed  or  felt  sorrow,  is  a  person  with- 
out much  sympathy,  compassion,  or  real  understanding 
of  life. 

Obviously,  then,  our  emotional  objections  to  reincar- 
nation are  hopelessly  illogical  and  childish,  and  as 
thoughtful  people  we  should  not  permit  our  dislike 
of  the  teaching  process  to  carry  away  our  reason  and 
good  sense. 

The  idea  of  reincarnation  is  exceedingly  logical, 
whether  we  admit  it  to  be  a  fact  in  nature  or  not.  It 
offers  to  the  growing  soul,  not  the  paltry  gains  of  a 
single  life  on  earth,  but  unlimited  experience  in  many 
stations  of  life  and  under  all  possible  circumstances. 
Not  a  single  event  can  happen  to  us  which  does  not 
offer  something  of  value  for  growth,  even  though  the 
drop  of  wisdom  which  may  be  distilled  from  it  is  small. 

By  varying  the  conditions  of  birth  and  the  occupation 
from  life  to  life,  lopsided  development  can  be  prevented 
and  an  all-round  knowledge  of  the  world  obtained.  Thus 
if  this  life,  which  we  are  now  leading,  is  but  one  of  a 
series,  each  experience,  no  matter  how  trivial,  is  valuable ; 
but  if  this  is  the  only  life  we  live  on  earth,  then  we 
must  frankly  admit,  that  much  of  that  which  we  experi- 
ence and  learn  here  is  practically  useless  in  the  future, 
for  the  knowledge  gained  would  be  of  value  only  on 
earth  and  not  in  any  heaven  world.  If  we  return  we 
can  make  good  use  of  that  knowledge,  but  if  we  do  not, 
then  many  of  our  efforts  and  lessons  gained  at  great  cost 
are  just  so  much  wasted  time. 

Furthermore,  what  is  the  value  of  physical  existence 
to  a  soul  who  inhabits  the  body  of  an  infant  that  lives  but 
a  few  hours,  or  the  body  of  a  child  criminal  born  and 
reared  in  the  slums?  If  we  live  but  one  life,  there  is  no 

[48] 


GROWTH  THROUGH  REINCARNATION 

satisfactory  explanation ;  but  if  this  life  is  one  of  many 
arranged  in  an  ascending  series,  then  we  see  in  the  two 
conditions  just  mentioned,  the  payment  of  a  debt  in 
one  case,  and  the  first  efforts  of  an  ignorant  untaught 
soul  in  the  other. 

One  of  the  current  misconceptions  about  reincarna- 
tion, which  prevents  a  consideration  of  the  idea  by 
thoughtful  people,  is  that  it  teaches  the  return  of  a 
human  being  to  the  body  of  an  animal — that  next  life 
we  may  be  born  as  a  dog  or  a  horse !  This  point  of  view 
is  obviously  so  absurd  that  it  seems  foolish  to  mention  it, 
yet  people  who  ought  to  know  better  seriously  advance 
it  as  an  argument  against  reincarnation. 

This  curiously  distorted  misconception  is  only  be- 
lieved by  the  ignorant  peasants  in  those  religions  which 
teach  reincarnation,  but  does  not  represent  at  all  the 
belief  of  their  more  advanced  adherents.  It  is  as  sensible 
to  speak  of  transferring  a  college  student  to  a  kinder- 
garten class  in  order  to  recommence  his  education,  as 
it  is  to  think  of  a  human  soul  being  born  again  in  the 
body  of  an  animal.  Nature  is  never  so  unreasonable  as 
this! 

Progress  is  forwards,  not  backwards,  so  as  we  advance 
we  always  come  back  in  human  bodies,  each  one  a  little 
better  than  the  previous  one.  Sometimes,  it  is  true,  for 
some  grievous  fault,  we  may  during  one  incarnation 
retrace  our  steps  to  a  slight  extent  and  take  birth  in  a 
less  advanced  type  of  body  and  under  less  favorable 
conditions,  but  this  retrograde  movement  is  only  ap- 
parent and  not  real,  even  as  the  backward  movement  of 
an  eddy  in  the  flowing  water  of  a  river  does  not  change 
the  forward  course  of  the  stream. 

Another  misconception  is  that  we  are  reborn  imme- 
diately. Careful  investigation  has  shown,  however,  that 
this  rarely  happens,  and  that  the  normal  interval  between 
one  life  and  another  varies  from  a  few  score  years  in  the 

[49] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

case  of  an  undeveloped  soul  to  twenty  centuries  or  even 
more  in  the  case  of  a  far  advanced  type.  The  length 
of  this  interval  depends  primarily  upon  the  amount  of 
experience  gained  during  the  earth  life,  and  this  in  turn 
depends  upon  three  factors : 

(1)  The  length  of  the  physical  life — the  longer  the 
life,  the  more  experience. 

(2)  The  quality  of  the  life.    Some  lives  are  tranquil 
and  placid  while  others  are  adventurous  and  crowded 
with  events — naturally  the  latter  supply  more  experi- 
ence. 

(3)  The  age  of  the  soul.    We  did  not  commence  our 
evolution  at  the  same  time,  and  may  therefore  be  sorted 
out  theoretically  into  classes  such  as  is  done  actually 
with  children  in  a  school,  hence  we  are  not  of  the  same 
educational  age.    The  older  the  soul,  the  less  it  engages 
in  purely  physical  pursuits  and  the  more  it  is  inter- 
ested in  mental,  moral  and  spiritual  things.    Naturally, 
activities  of  the  latter  type,  inasmuch  as  they  are  expres- 
sions of  our  larger  life  in  the  subtler  worlds,  give  us 
more  to  think  over  and  assimilate  during  the  interval 
between  one  life  and  the  next. 

There  are  three  possible  theories  to  account  for  the 
soul  before  it  commenced  its  life  here  at  birth: 

(1)  It  was  newly  created  at  birth  by  God — a  point 
of  view  commonly  held  in  Christian  countries.    This  is 
the  theory  of  special  creation. 

(2)  It  existed  before  birth  in  some  spiritual  state, 
but  has  never  lived  before  on  earth.    This  is  the  theory 
of  pre-existence. 

(3)  It  has  lived  many  times  before  on  earth,  and  its 
existing  capacities  and  abilities  are  the  results  of  that 
past  experience.    This  is  the  theory  of  reincarnation. 

[50] 


GROWTH  THROUGH  REINCARNATION 

One  of  these  three  theories  must  be  right,  and  it  is 
our  duty  carefully  to  study  the  facts  of  life  until  we 
can  determine  which  one  is  true.  If  we  love  truth, 
prejudice  should  not  blind  us  nor  should  the  tradi- 
tional beliefs,  held  without  question  by  those  around, 
deter  us  from  forming  our  own  independent  opinion. 

One  of  the  hardest  problems  for  a  humane  person  to 
solve  is  the  reconciliation  of  the  heart-breaking  injustice 
of  many  of  the  conditions  of  this  world  with  a  belief  in 
the  perfect  Justice  and  Love  of  God.  Some  souls  are 
born  in  slums  and  taught  nothing  but  crime ;  others  are 
reared  in  refined  families  and  tenderly  guarded  by  lov- 
ing fathers  and  mothers.  Why,  if  either  of  the  first  two 
theories  are  true?  Some  are  born  into  crippled  and 
diseased  bodies;  others  into  bodies  that  are  perfect. 
Why?  Some  are  born  as  idiots  while  others  are  gifted 
with  brilliant  intellectual  powers.  Again,  why? 

We  may,  of  course,  explain  all  of  these  conditions  to 
our  own  satisfaction  on  the  basis  of  physical  heredity 
and  the  responsibility  of  parents,  but  does  this  make 
the  situation  any  more  just  so  far  as  the  souls  themselves 
are  concerned?  They  are  the  ones  who  suffer,  not  the 
parents,  and  if  we  are  to  see  God's  Justice  in  the 
world,  we  must  understand  why  they  suffer  as  they  do. 

Many  people  are  unwilling  to  admit  that  God  is  unjust, 
and  so,  because  they  are  unable  to  justify  the  actual 
facts  spread  out  before  their  eyes,  fall  back  on  the 
statement  that  all  these  conditions  are  the  workings 
of  an  inscrutable  Providence,  whose  ways  we  may  not 
question.  This  is,  of  course,  not  an  explanation  of  the 
conditions ;  it  is  an  admission  of  ignorance.  Nor  is  there 
any  ground  for  the  hope — in  the  light  of  the  first  two 
theories — which  is  expressed  by  many  persons,  that  al- 
though there  is  undoubtedly  much  injustice  and  unde- 
served suffering  in  the  world,  death  will  surely  square 
all  and  we  shall  receive  our  due  recompense  on  the  other 

[51] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

side  of  the  grave.  Have  we  any  justification  for  this 
hope  ?  If  God  created  a  world  so  imperfectly  conceived 
that  rampant  injustice  is  found  everywhere,  how  do  we 
know  that  the  same  state  of  affairs  does  not  prevail 
after  death? 

But  there  is  a  line  of  reasoning  which  carries  us  out 
of  this  intolerable  situation  and  illuminates  all  our 
human  problems.  We  may  reduce  this  reasoning  to  a 
very  simple  statement : 

Life  is  unjust  if  we  experience  any  undeserved  suf- 
fering or  unearned  happiness. 

Much  comes  to  us  which  we  have  neither  earned  nor 
deserved  in  this  life. 

Therefore,  if  a  just  God  exists,  we  must  have  lived  on 
earth  before  and  during  that  time  started  the  causes 
which  now  are  controlling  circumstances. 

We  may  expand  this  line  of  reasoning  and  approach 
the  problem  from  a  slightly  different  angle : 

This  life  is  a  living  hell  if  we  are  the  innocent  victims 
of  a  Power  which  is  either  so  merciless,  unjust  or  weak, 
that  it  is  unable  to  control  the  world  it  has  created. 

Unless  the  conditions  of  birth,  the  extent  of  our  ca- 
pacities and  abilities  and  of  the  opportunities  which 
come  to  us,  are  the  direct  results  of  our  own  efforts  and 
therefore  deserved,  we  are  such  victims. 

But  if  we  are  not  victims  and  these  conditions  were 
caused  by  ourselves,  then  we  must  have  lived  on  earth 
before,  or  in  some  condition  exactly  resembling  physical 
existence,  in  order  to  have  sown  the  seed  we  are  now 
reaping  as  harvests. 

If  we  refuse  to  be  false  to  our  intuition  that  God  is 
absolutely  just,  the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  rein- 
carnation is  the  true  theory  regarding  the  soul.  Theoso- 
phy  is  unassailable  when  it  affirms  that  there  is  no 
injustice  anywhere  in  the  universe,  and  that  every  event 
of  life — when  we  can  see  the  whole  of  it — is  in  reality 

[52] 


GEOWTH  THEOUGH  EEINCAENATION 

part  of  the  working  of  a  perfect  law  of  cause  and  effect 
which  is  flawless  in  its  justice.  We  call  an  event  unjust 
because  we  are  looking  only  at  the  result  and  have  not 
the  power  to  turn  back  the  pages  of  history  and  see  the 
cause. 

But  there  are  also  other  facts  which  indicate  that 
reincarnation  is  a  law  of  nature.  Notice  the  enormous 
difference  in  mental  and  moral  faculties  between  one 
man  and  another — between  a  Hottentot  and  a  Huxley. 
Education  and  environment  cannot  make  all  the  differ- 
ence. A  Hottentot  may  be  taught  in  our  most  approved 
way  and  amid  advantageous  surroundings,  but  while 
there  would  be  a  certain  amount  of  progress,  his  advance- 
ment would  not  be  great. 

It  is  not  a  question  alone  of  physical  heredity.  In 
the  case  of  twins,  born  under  exactly  the  same  pre-natal 
influences,  the  most  striking  differences  in  ability  and 
character  are  frequently  noticed  after  a  few  years. 
This  would  not  be  the  case  of  physical  heredity  were 
the  only  factor  at  work. 

But  if  we  understand  that  the  souls  themselves  differ 
in  experience,  that  some  are  just  commencing  their 
schooling  while  others  are  near  to  graduation,  then 
these  differences  are  easily  and  logically  explained. 
Physical  heredity  no  doubt  plays  an  important  part  so 
far  as  the  quality  and  appearance  of  our  physical  bodies 
are  concerned,  but  we  bring  with  us  our  emotional  and 
mental  powers  when  we  come,  in  the  form  of  innate 
faculties.  Whence  come  the  faculties  of  the  "born" 
teacher,  speaker  and  leader?  Oftentimes  the  parents 
and  even  the  ancestors  do  not  display  them.  How 
explain  the  appearance  of  a  Napoleon,  a  Shakespeare,  a 
Wagner?  The  most  careful  tracing  of  their  ancestry 
leaves  us  more  puzzled  than  before,  if  physical  heredity 
is  the  sole  factor. 

What  is  the  source  of  genius?    Can  water  rise  higher 

[53] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

than  its  source ;  if  not,  why  should  offspring  be  greater 
than  their  parents  and  ancestors?  But  if  a  genius  is 
an  old  soul  who  has  developed  enormous  capacity  along 
a  certain  line — music,  drama,  painting,  mathematics — 
then  we  need  not  strain  to  breaking,  the  theory  of 
physical  heredity  in  order  to  explain  his  appearance  in 
the  world.  Eeincarnation  also  shows  why  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  a  genius  are  never  equal  to  the  parent — a 
genius  can  only  transmit  his  physical  peculiarities  to  his 
offspring,  never  his  inspiring  talents,  which  are  the 
powers  of  the  soul. 

An  objection  is  frequently  made  to  the  idea  of  rein- 
carnation on  the  ground  that  if  we  have  lived  before 
we  would  have  memories  of  the  past.  The  argument 
which  the  objector  has  in  mind  runs  something  like  this : 

We  remember  whatever  we  have  experienced ;  we  have 
no  memories  of  past  lives;  therefore  we  have  not  lived 
before. 

This  reasoning  is  exceedingly  faulty  because  it  leaves 
out  of  account  that  physically  we  forget  experience  more 
than  we  remember  it.  How  many  of  us  can  remember 
exactly  what  we  did  and  said  twelve  years  ago  this  day  ? 
Not  one.  How  many  of  us  can  remember  everything  we 
did  last  week,  or  even  yesterday?  Major  events,  yes, 
but  not  details.  Why  ?  Because  the  memories  have  been 
lost  forever  ?  No,  only  because  the  physical  brain  cannot 
recall  them.  If  we  are  thrown  into  a  hypnotic  trance 
state  by  a  psychologist,  we  can  easily  be  helped  to  recall 
everything  we  have  done  in  the  past,  the  extent  to  which 
we  are  able  to  recover  these  old  memories  depending 
upon  the  depth  of  the  trance.  This  is  absolute  proof 
that  every  one  of  us  possesses  millions  of  memories  of 
which  the  physical  brain  has  no  recollection  whatsoever. 
Obviously  the  argument  advanced  against  reincarnation 
is  not  sound,  for  there  may  exist  a  deep  layer  of  our 
consciousness  in  which  adhere  the  memories  of  other 

[54] 


GROWTH  THROUGH  REINCARNATION 

lives  on  earth — memories  entirely  unknown  to  the  wak- 
ing consciousness. 

This  at  least  is  the  statement  of  theosophical  investi- 
gators, and  their  conclusions  are  borne  out  by  the 
experiments  of  de  Rochas,  who  forced  the  consciousness 
of  a  hypnotized  woman  back  step  by  step  into  what  were 
apparently  the  memories,  not  of  one  past  life  only,  but 
of  four.  Further,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  some 
people  do  remember  their  past  lives,  at  least  in  part,  and 
in  making  this  statement  we  do  not  have  in  mind  those 
persons  who  imagine  themselves  to  have  been  in  the 
past  Anthony  or  Cleopatra  or  some  other  romantic  char- 
acter !  Children  frequently  have  glimpses  of  other  lives, 
and  strive  to  tell  us  of  them,  but  we  laugh  and  call  them 
fancies,  and  the  child  soon  forgets,  especially  as  it  grows 
older  and  the  brain  tissue  becomes  less  plastic  to  the 
influence  of  the  mind. 

Reincarnation  is  not  an  endless  process,  any  more  than 
we  go  to  school  all  our  life.  It  ceases  when  we  have 
learned  all  the  major  lessons  this  world  can  teach  and 
we  have  reached  the  stage  of  the  perfect  man.  Then 
we  are  ready  to  assume  the  greater  duties  and  commence 
the  wider  work  for  which  our  education  in  the  world- 
school  has  fitted  us.  For  just  as  we  go  forth  into  the 
world  after  our  school  days  are  over,  so  do  we  venture 
into  a  larger  field  after  our  many  lives  on  earth  are 
ended — the  analogy  is  exact. 


[55] 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  PROBLEM  OF  DESTINY 

We  measure  life  by  false  standards,  by  pleasure  and 
pain  and  not  by  growth.  If  life  is  pleasant  we  bless 
destiny,  if  unpleasant,  we  curse  it,  never  considering  in 
either  case  whether  we  grow  through  the  experiences 
which  come.  Destiny  is  Nature's  plan  of  education;  she 
is  not  trying  to  please  us,  to  kill  time,  to  furnish  a  con- 
tinual round  of  pleasure ;  she  is  endeavoring  to  teach  us. 
That  is  why  we  must  work,  endure  hardships,  struggle 
for  what  we  get.  Rugged  lessons  truly,  but  wonderfully 
effective  in  their  results,  for  such  teaching  as  we  receive 
on  earth  produces  strong  men  and  brave  women,  not 
weaklings.  Even  though  lives  are  spent  in  learning  the 
lessons,  they  are  eventually  mastered,  for  in  this  world- 
school  there  are  no  failures. 

Destiny,  however,  offers  many  problems,  and  the  great- 
est of  them  all  is  to  find  the  cause  of  the  fate  which 
brings  us  to  our  parents,  determines  our  opportu- 
nities, gauges  our  faculties  and  moulds  our  lives.  To 
a  certain  extent  this  problem  was  considered  in  the  last 
chapter,  but  we  must  go  further,  for  during  the  cen- 
turies three  answers  have  been  proposed  to  explain 
human  destiny.  Let  us  consider  these  answers  in  turn. 

The  first  answer  is  that  our  lives  are  moulded  at  the 
dictates  of  some  Being  who  is  the  Ruler  of  the  universe. 
At  His  command  all  things  come  or  are  withheld.  We 
are  like  puppets  moved  by  an  unseen  hand  across  a 
stage ;  we  act,  but  the  scenes,  the  actors,  our  very  char- 
acters and  the  events  which  happen,  are  all  prescribed 
by  Him.  If  He  wills  it,  we  may  be  exalted  in  the  eyes 

[56] 


THE  PEOBLEM  OF  DESTINY 

of  men;  if  it  is  His  wish,  we  may  be  disgraced  and 
shamed.  No  exertion  can  change  our  destiny ;  that  rests 
with  Him.  We  have  neither  earned  the  happiness  nor 
deserved  the  suffering  which  is  our  portion,  for  our 
destinies  are  decided  on  high. 

This  may  be  considered  to  be  an  exaggerated  state- 
ment of  a  particular  viewpoint,  yet  this  is  exactly  what 
is  implied  in  the  resigned  acceptance  of  one  who  mur- 
murs— as  many  of  us  have  done  after  a  blow  has  fallen : 
1 '  Thy  Will  be  done. ' '  Yet  how  hard  it  is  to  think  that  all 
we  see  happening  around  us  is  due  to  God's  Will.  We 
ask  ourselves  if  it  be  true  that  he  blinds  children,  breaks 
the  hearts  of  strong  men,  permits  people  to  be  sent  to 
prison  though  innocent  of  crime,  creates  a  world  in 
which  souls  fresh  from  His  hands  may  be  born  in  crip- 
pled or  idiotic  bodies  and  babes  may  become  diseased 
for  the  sins  of  their  parents.  If  we  dare  not  go  to  the 
extreme  of  saying  that  He  does  all  this,  then  we  are 
merely  avoiding  the  inevitable  outcome  of  a  consistent 
application  of  this  answer  to  destiny. 

But  if  God  deliberately  causes  such  suffering  or  even 
permits  it  to  happen,  without  justification,  to  the  souls 
concerned,  how  can  we  reverence  Him?  What  purpose 
is  there  in  it  all?  We  do  not  know  why  we  came  here, 
we  do  not  know  whither  we  are  to  go,  and  during  our 
stay  on  earth  we  are  unjustly  treated.  The  future  is 
uncertain,  without  promise,  for  if  He  allow  destiny  to 
crush  our  neighbor,  may  He  not  permit  the  same  awful 
fate  to  visit  us?  We  must  submit  to  every  caprice,  for 
destiny  cannot  be  controlled  by  us  but  only  by  Him. 

Is  this  a  satisfactory  answer  to  the  problem?  Em- 
phatically it  is  not,  and  surely  it  is  only  accepted  blindly 
by  so  many,  because  they  refuse  even  to  think  about  its 
unreasonableness,  believing  that  no  other  solution  exists, 
and  fearing  that  if  they  trust  themselves  to  the  stormy 
sea  of  doubt,  they  may  be  lost. 

[57] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

According  to  the  second  answer  to  the  problem  of 
destiny,  life  is  merely  the  product  of  circumstances,  the 
result  of  chance.  There  may  or  may  not  be  a  God,  but 
if  He  does  exist,  He  does  not  concern  Himself  very 
closely  with  the  world  He  has  created,  and  may  there- 
fore be  left  out  of  account  so  far  as  destiny  is  concerned. 
We  may  be  born  in  the  hovel  of  a  savage,  or  in  the  home 
of  refined  parents,  for  there  is  no  choice  or  law  govern- 
ing birth,  and  the  soul  must  accept  what  it  receives. 
Human  bodies  are  born  because  their  parents  are  swayed 
by  passion.  We  have  done  nothing  to  deserve  our  birth 
conditions  or  environment;  in  fact,  from  the  viewpoint 
of  this  answer  to  destiny,  it  is  absurd  to  speak  of  the 
events  of  life  which  happen  to  us  as  expressing  any 
purpose;  they  merely  happen.  Luck  rules,  chance  is 
king. 

Assuredly,  we  can  never  be  certain  of  results.  We 
may  toil  for  years  only  to  fail  in  the  end,  or  we  may 
win  by  a  lucky  move.  All  talk  of  rewards  and  punish- 
ments is  idle.  We  are  but  gamblers  spinning  the  wheel 
of  fortune ;  if  we  pick  the  right  color  we  succeed,  if  we 
make  a  mistake,  we  lose.  All  we  can  do  is  to  strive  to 
win  and  then  anxiously  await  the  next  turn  of  the  wheel, 
for  there  is  no  law,  no  certainty. 

This  is  surely  a  tottering  foundation  upon  which  to 
build  the  structure  of  a  life,  and  yet  it  is  the  unreasoned 
philosophy  of  many.  Strange  how  illogical  we  are  some- 
times, for  all  the  facts  which  we  have  gleaned  from 
nature  show  us  thai  changeless  law  rules  everything  in 
the  realm  of  science,  and  that  nature  utterly  repudiates 
chance.  Science  is  only  possible  because  nature  is  organ- 
ized law  and  chance  a  figment  of  the  human  imagination. 
Why,  then,  when  it  comes  to  human  events  and  human 
existence,  should  we  put  everything  in  a  compartment 
and  label  it  "Chance  and  Disorder,"  while  we  are 
obliged  to  put  all  other  things  in  the  universe  in  another 

[58] 


THE  PEOBLEM  OF  DESTINY 

compartment  and  label  it  "Law  and  Order"?  It  is 
illogical  and  absurd  to  do  so,  for  surely  law  must  gov- 
ern all  things,  human  and  non-human,  great  and  small. 

The  third  answer  to  the  problem  of  destiny  is  that 
man,  an  immortal  soul,  is  the  moulder  and  master  of  his 
own  destiny,  because  he  has  started  and  will  start  all  the 
forces  which  mould  the  circumstances  in  which  he  lives. 
This  is  the  point  of  view  accepted  and  taught  by 
Theosophy. 

It  tells  us  that  no  one  is  to  blame  except  ourselves  for 
our  birth  conditions,  our  character,  our  opportunities, 
our  abilities,  for  all  these  things  are  due  to  the  working 
out  of  forces  we  have  set  going  either  in  this  life  or  in 
former  lives.  Thus  all  existing  conditions  are  due  either 
to  the  immediate  or  remote  past,  because,  to  use  a  lumi- 
nous simile  of  St.  Paul,  we  are  reaping  the  harvests 
which  have  grown  from  seed  we  have  sown  before — 
"whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap." 

From  the  seeds  of  good  and  bad  actions  spring  the 
harvests  of  pleasant  and  unpleasant  physical  circum- 
stances; from  the  seeds  of  attentiveness  to  small  oppor- 
tunities spring  the  harvests  of  greater  opportunities; 
from  the  seeds  of  good  and  evil  thoughts  and  desires 
spring  the  harvests  of  good  and  bad  character. 

These  results  are  as  inevitable  as  the  fall  of  a  stone 
to  earth  after  it  has  been  thrown  into  the  air.  We  are 
what  we  are  because  of  our  past  actions,  desires  and 
thoughts.  There  is  no  favoritism  in  nature;  we  must 
earn  what  we  receive.  If  this  idea  is  once  grasped,  then 
envy  and  resentment  become  impossible  and  we  cease 
useless  cursing  at  fate. 

This  conception  of  destiny  does  not  eliminate  God 
from  the  world;  our  idea  of  Him  becomes  far  grander 
than  before.  Instead,  however,  of  a  world  so  imper- 
fectly conceived  that  He  must  constantly  interfere  to 
set  things  straight,  we  realize  that  the  universe,  even 

[59] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

to  the  slightest  detail,  is  perfect  in  its  working,  because 
guided  by  exquisitely  balanced  natural  and  moral  laws. 
When  these  laws  are  transgressed,  suffering  comes; 
when  they  are  obeyed,  happiness  is  ours ;  because  of  this 
it  is  possible  for  us  to  learn  right  from  wrong. 

Sometimes  people  exclaim,  when  they  have  only  par- 
tially grasped  this  conception  of  destiny:  "But  why 
should  these  merciless  laws  of  destiny  make  us  suffer  for 
things  we  have  forgotten?"  As  this  natural  question 
contains  several  misconceptions,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
analyze  it  carefully,  in  order  to  gain  a  clear  under- 
standing of  what  is  implied  therein. 

In  the  first  place,  what  do  we  mean  by  a  "law  of 
nature"?  Certainly  not  laws  in  any  sense  resembling 
those  turned  out  each  year  by  hundreds  from  our  legis- 
lative bodies.  A  law  of  nature  is  merely  a  condition, 
an  inevitable  sequence.  If  a  certain  thing  is  done,  such 
will  be  the  result,  and  the  result  never  changes.  Inevita- 
bleness  is  the  chief  characteristic  of  natural  law.  Under 
the  same  conditions  of  atmospheric  pressure,  heat  always 
causes  water  to  boil  at  a  certain  temperature.  If  it 
were  not  for  the  inevitable  character  of  natural  law, 
science  would  be  impossible,  and,  because  we  could 
never  know  what  to  expect,  the  wheels  of  industry  would 
cease  to  move.  May  not  this  same  inevitableness  apply 
likewise  to  moral  laws?  If  so,  it  is  obvious,  that  if  in 
a  past  life  or  lives  certain  causes  are  started,  they  must 
produce  their  inevitable  effects,  whether  our  physical 
consciousness  remembers  the  causes  or  not. 

We  should  not  forget  that  the  soul  always  remembers, 
and  when  in  our  brain  consciousness  we  are  writhing 
under  a  sense  of  injustice,  because  of  some  event  which 
has  happened,  the  soul  itself  is  comparing  the  present 
result  with  its  past  cause,  and  is  learning  a  lesson 
thereby.  Physical  forgetfulness  of  the  past,  therefore, 
should  not  logically  be  able  to  affect  the  working  of  a 

[60] 


THE  PEOBLEM  OF  DESTINY 

moral  law — if  we  have  upset  the  equilibrium  of  nature, 
it  must  be  readjusted. 

It  is  always  possible,  however,  to  neutralize  a  force, 
by  directing  against  it  another  force,  equal  in  power  and 
moving  in  an  opposite  direction.  Thus  if  we  have  made 
mistakes  in  the  past,  we  can  to  a  considerable  extent 
modify  the  results,  by  setting  in  operation  neutralizing 
forces.  If  we  send  out  a  strong  thought  of  love  immedi- 
ately after  we  have  made  the  mistake  of  thinking  a 
thought  of  hate,  we  can  overcome  what  otherwise  would 
have  been  the  inevitable  effect  of  the  hate.  This  great 
possibility  of  modifying  destiny  should  not  be  overlooked. 

Is  it  right  to  speak  of  any  law  of  nature  as  merciless  ? 
Do  we  call  gravity  merciless,  because  one  day,  while 
walking  along  a  river  bank,  the  soil  gave  way  under  our 
feet,  and  gravity  dragged  us  to  the  rocks  below?  Of 
course  we  do  not,  because  we  realize  that  if  gravity 
ceased  but  for  a  single  instant,  there  would  be  a  terrific 
explosion,  and  this  earth  would  drift  off  through  space 
as  a  mere  cloud  of  impalpable  dust.  Do  we  call  nature 
cruel,  because  she  produces  a  diseased  condition  in  our 
physical  bodies,  when  we  become  dissipated  and  lax  in 
our  morals  ?  Then  why  should  we  do  so,  if  the  result  of 
some  similar  lack  of  self-control,  for  one  reason  or  an- 
other, does  not  come  at  once  but  is  postponed  until  a 
future  life?  Are  we  not  the  same  souls,  and  do  we  not 
as  souls  retain  full  memories  of  all  past  lives,  which, 
after  all,  are  only  days  in  our  greater  soul  life  ? 

Nature  is  most  wise  in  enabling  us  physically  to  for- 
get the  past  and  start  with  a  clean  record.  How  many 
a  man  has  wished  and  prayed  for  that  very  boon  in  this 
life!  Memories  are  frequently  a  handicap  and  even  a 
torment  when  accompanied  by  remorse — it  is  for  this 
reason,  among  others,  that  we  start  afresh  each  life  on 
earth.  Furthermore,  full  memories  of  all  our  past  lives 
would  make  it  possible,  to  a  considerable  extent,  to 

[61] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

anticipate  the  future,  because  we  could  pick  out  the 
causes  which  would  produce  coming  events.  Now  recall 
to  mind  some  month  or  year  which  was  filled  with  much 
sorrow  and  difficulty.  Would  we  have  had  the  courage 
to  have  faced  that  period  had  we  known  what  was  com- 
ing? Our  very  ignorance  of  the  future  was  an  enor- 
mous advantage,  and  because  we  did  not  see  the  events 
until  they  were  actually  upon  us,  we  were  victorious 
over  them  in  the  end.  Knowledge  of  the  future,  at  our 
present  stage  of  evolution,  would  be  a  curse  and  not  a 
help,  would  be  the  cause  of  countless  failures,  where 
ignorance  of  what  is  to  be  brings  success. 

What  we  do  bring  with  us  when  we  come,  however,  is 
the  essence  of  our  past  experiences  in  the  form  of  innate 
faculties  and  the  voice  of  conscience.  Whenever  in 
business  an  old  set  of  account  books  is  closed  and  a  new 
set  opened,  only  the  balances  are  brought  forward.  So 
when  we  commence  a  new  incarnation  we  bring  the 
summation  of  our  past  experiences  in  a  form  most  suited 
to  the  needs  and  emergencies  of  physical  life,  hence  those 
qualities  of  character,  those  powers  to  achieve,  those 
inborn  faculties,  which  make  one  child  different  from 
another. 

This  answer  to  destiny,  often  mentioned  in  theo- 
sophical  literature  as  Karma,  is  not  fatalistic  in  the 
slightest.  Fatalism  always  implies  that  we  are  bound 
on  an  iron  wheel  of  circumstances  from  which  no  effort 
of  our  own  can  free  us.  Karma,  on  the  contrary,  says 
that  while  in  truth  we  are  bound  by  what  we  have  done 
in  the  past,  yet  each  moment  we  live  we  are  moulding 
and  modifying  the  future  by  the  decisions  and  choices 
we  make.  Free-will  certainly  does  not  mean  that  we  are 
free  to  change  the  conditions  of  nature  in  any  way  that 
our  whims  may  dictate,  but  that  we  are  free  to  choose 
what  we  shall  do  within  those  conditions.  If  each  one 
of  us  had  the  power  to  modify  the  world  according  to 

[62] 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  DESTINY 

our  several  fancies,  what  an  inconceivable  chaos  would 
result ! 

One  of  the  conditions  of  nature  is,  that  when  we 
choose,  we  must  abide  by  the  result  of  our  choice.  In 
this  way  we  learn  wisdom.  If  we  decide  to  jump  off  a 
wall,  it  does  not  stop  our  fall  for  one  instant,  to  wish, 
when  we  are  halfway  down,  that  we  were  on  top  again. 
If  we  jump  off  we  must  strike  bottom — a  cause  is  always 
followed  by  its  effect.  If  we  are  wise  we  think  before 
we  jump. 

This  conception  of  destiny,  when  once  understood, 
results  in  a  philosophy  of  optimism.  Every  hardship 
we  experience  is  an  old  debt  paid  and  we  are  glad  of  it ; 
instead  of  complaining  or  repining  we  seek  eagerly  for 
the  lessons  each  event  brings.  The  friends  who  gather 
round  us  have  been  our  friends  before ;  the  ones  we  love 
this  life  will  be  with  us  again  many  times  in  the  future, 
for  love  is  a  tie  so  strong  that  even  death  cannot  break  it. 

There  is  no  goal  too  high  for  us  to  reach ;  if  we  place 
our  goal  on  the  heights,  it  may  not  be  reached  for  many 
lives,  but  reach  it  we  shall,  for  that  which  we  will  to  do 
we  can  do.  All  that  is  necessary  is  to  turn  every  energy 
in  that  direction,  to  think  of  the  goal,  to  desire  it  with 
all  our  heart,  to  seize  every  opportunity  to  draw  nearer 
to  it.  If  this  is  done  there  is  no  power  on  earth  or  in 
heaven  which  can  prevent  us  from  reaching  it. 

We  may  be  handicapped,  it  is  true,  by  foolish  mis- 
takes or  contrary  efforts  we  have  made  in  the  past,  either 
in  this  life  or  in  others,  but  the  effects  of  these  mistakes 
and  efforts  must  in  time  become  exhausted,  and  equally 
the  new  forces  we  are  setting  in  operation  now  must 
produce  their  inevitable  effects.  So  instead  of  bewailing 
our  past  mistakes,  we  resolutely  set  to  work,  under  the 
inspiration  of  this  philosophy,  to  mould  the  future  into 
the  likeness  of  our  highest  ideals,  confident  that  if  we 
set  going  each  moment  the  best  we  know,  the  future, 

[63] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 


immediate  and  distant,  will  be  radiant  with  ever  increas- 
ing happiness  and  filled  with  ever  growing  opportunities. 
The  Good  Law  may  be  trusted  to  the  end. 


[64] 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  SPLENDID  GOAL 

"What  is  the  nature  of  that  wider  life  for  which  the 
long  process  of  reincarnation  is  preparing  us?  As- 
suredly not  an  inactive  existence  in  some  spiritual  realm 
where  for  all  eternity  we  remain  in  an  ecstasy  of  devo- 
tional contemplation.  This  may  appeal  to  the  mystic 
and  the  saint,  who  love  seclusion  and  freedom  from  the 
contacts  of  the  world,  but  to  the  normal  man  and  woman 
of  to-day,  a  future  existence  of  wide  and  beneficent 
activity  would  be  more  attractive,  and  more  in  keeping 
with  what  is  apparently  the  purpose  of  our  physical 
existence. 

Does  not  the  greatest  happiness  come  to  us  now  when 
we  have  successfully  accomplished  some  good  work,  cre- 
ated something  useful  or  beautiful,  or  have  been  of 
service  to  others  ?  There  is,  of  course,  a  passing  pleasure 
in  winning  a  prize,  receiving  a  pleasing  gift,  and  enjoy- 
ing an  entertainment  or  trip,  but  such  pleasure  can  never 
equal  in  quality  or  intensity  the  happiness  which  comes 
when  we  realize  that  we  have  contributed  something  of 
value  to  the  world. 

This  happiness  is  instinctive — it  is  the  expression  in 
us  of  the  universal  joy  in  creation.  We  may  see  that 
joy  in  the  very  exuberance  with  which  nature  fashions 
whirling  atom  and  flashing  star,  colored  flower  and 
rugged  crag,  creeping  lichen  and  forest  giant,  flying 
moth  and  laboring  man,  painted  coral  and  threatening 
cloud,  insect  wing  and  flaming  nebula,  modeling  whole 
kingdoms  of  living  things  with  inexhaustible  invention, 
lightly  touching  all  with  charm  and  grace,  draping  some 

[65] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

in  sober  hues,  others  in  maddest  colors,  yet  all  with 
beauty,  designing  some  in  terms  of  pure  geometry,  others 
with  wild  fancy,  some  as  of  lacework,  others  with  limit- 
less strength — verily  as  we  gaze  our  hearts  quicken  with 
the  creative  vitality  of  it  all,  and  we  feel  the  joy  of  its 
divine  Inventor  as  He  moulds  in  plastic  matter  form 
after  form  in  infinite  variety  to  express  life  after  life 
in  infinite  complexity. 

We  need  not  depreciate  the  love  of  activity,  the  ad- 
miration for  efficiency,  the  worship  of  achievement, 
which  are  marked  characteristics  of  the  modern  man. 
They  are  the  first  expressions  in  the  race  of  a  new  sense 
of  power,  which  in  the  end  will  lead  to  mastery  of  the 
physical  world.  From  our  present  efforts,  misguided 
and  unbalanced  as  frequently  they  are,  will  arise  in  time 
true  skill  in  action,  which  is  one  of  the  ways  of  gaining 
knowledge  of  the  Divine.  We  ought  not  regard  such 
efforts  and  ideals  as  merely  a  passing  phase — rather  they 
are  the  bursting  through  the  crust  of  civilization  of  long 
pent  up  forces,  the  result  of  the  onward  pressure  of 
evolution. 

We  shall  not  be  able  to  understand  the  profound  sig- 
nificance of  evolution  so  long  as  we  think  of  God  as  sep- 
arate from  the  universe,  as  existing  apart  somewhere 
in  space  and,  as  an  external  Creator,  fashioning  the 
worlds  in  cosmic  matter.  The  evolution  of  a  universe 
does  not  resemble  the  building  of  a  house,  because  the 
human  artisans  who  wield  saw  and  hammer  are  not  part 
of  the  house ;  but  we  may  compare  an  evolving  universe 
to  a  living  body,  for  the  universe  is  living,  and  as  is  the 
case  with  a  body,  the  guiding,  controlling  Intelligence  is 
within,  not  without. 

Long  ago  we  were  told  that '  *  in  Him  we  live  and  move 
and  have  our  being,"  and  this  seems  to  be  literally  the 
truth.  Every  form,  moving  or  unmoving,  from  the  tiny 
atom  beneath  our  feet  to  the  farthest  star,  is  the  mani- 

[66] 


THE  SPLENDID  GOAL 

festation  of  Divinity,  and  in  affirming  this  we  are  not 
advocating  a  crude  pantheism  by  bringing  God  down  to 
the  level  of  matter,  but  we  are  lifting  matter  up  to  God, 
though  beyond  doubt  the  divine  Life  infinitely  tran- 
scends the  material  universe. 

We  speak  carelessly  of  matter  as  if  it  were  inert  and 
dead,  but  scientific  experiments  have  indicated  that  it  is 
wonderfully  sensitive,  platinum  responding  in  particular 
to  changes  in  temperature  amounting  to  only  1/100,000 
of  one  degree.  Electrical  experiments  have  also  shown 
that  a  bar  of  steel,  far  from  being  a  cold,  dead  mass  of 
metal,  is  composed  of  atoms  and  molecules  which  thrill 
and  quiver  if  even  a  warm  finger  is  placed  on  the  surface 
of  the  bar. 

As  we  gaze  starwards  on  a  brilliant  night  and  trace 
the  sparkling  swarms  of  mighty  suns  flung  bannerwise 
across  the  bowl  of  space,  the  immensity  of  the  universe 
awes  us  to  silence,  and  we  realize  something  of  the  titanic 
forces  which  must  span  the  interstellar  spaces  holding 
each  blazing  star  on  its  appointed  way.  Still  more 
intense  grows  the  feeling  of  reverence  when  it  flashes 
upon  us  that  each  one  of  these  millions  of  suns  probably 
has  attendant  planets  which  bear  upon  their  surface 
living  humanities  similar  to  our  own.  Stirred  by  the 
thought,  our  imagination  carries  us  out  into  the  depths 
of  space,  and  as  we  look  back  upon  the  mighty  universe 
we  have  just  been  contemplating,  it  has  dwindled  to  a 
distant  star  cluster,  one  among  millions  of  other  clusters 
which  float  in  the  silent  vastnesses  surrounding  us. 
Space  without  end,  neither  top  nor  bottom  nor  sides; 
splendid  suns  without  number,  arranged  in  clusters  and 
colossal  masses  of  clusters,  each  solar  system  the  physical 
body  of  a  vast  Intelligence,  each  star  cluster  the  form 
of  a  still  mightier  Consciousness,  the  whole  being  but 
cells  and  organs  in  the  body  of  God,  the  Universal  Con- 
sciousness. Then  we  know  that  we  must  cast  aside  for- 

[67] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

ever  all  our  childish  little  ideas  of  God  as  a  magnified 
human  being,  and  strive  to  think  of  Him  as  the  Universal 
Life,  the  Limitless  Consciousness,  the  Eternal  Love,  the 
very  source  and  heart  of  all  that  is.  ' '  Everything  that  is, 
is  God." 

When  we  return  to  a  contemplation  of  the  earth, 
nature  has  taken  on  new  dignity,  a  deeper  significance. 
No  longer  can  we  look  indifferently  at  the  various  king- 
doms of  nature :  mineral,  vegetable,  animal,  human  and 
superhuman,  for  we  see  that  each  one  has  sprung  into 
being  because  of  the  pressure  of  the  divine  Life  welling 
up  through  matter,  bearing  with  it  countless  centers  of 
consciousness,  which  in  the  human  kingdom  become  indi- 
vidualized as  souls.  Wave  after  wave  of  this  Life  pushes 
its  way  up  through  matter,  modeling  it  into  ever  more 
complex  forms,  until  out  of  the  mineral  arises  the 
vegetable,  out  of  the  vegetable  the  animal,  out  of  the 
animal  the  human,  out  of  the  human  the  divine. 

Every  form  in  the  universe  is  ceaselessly  growing, 
passing  as  the  centuries  speed  on,  from  immobility  to 
freedom,  from  darkness  to  light,  from  ignorance  to  wis- 
dom, from  a  less  perfect  to  a  more  perfect  stage.  Ulti- 
mate perfection  is  never  reached,  for  ultimate  perfection 
is  God,  but  every  living  thing  is  continually  becoming 
more  perfect  and  does  in  time  reach  perfection  in  its 
stage  of  growth.  Thus  we  may  think  of  a  perfect  man, 
but  when  such  perfection  is  reached,  a  more  glorious 
goal  is  seen  ahead,  and  when  that  is  won,  still  another  is 
visible.  Progress  is  infinite,  therefore  happiness  is  infi- 
nite. Though  we  may  gain  much  wisdom,  there  is  ever 
more  wisdom  for  the  winning.  Though  we  may  gain 
true  love,  there  is  ever  greater  love  to  embody,  arising 
as  love  does  from  the  heart  of  the  Divine.  Though  we 
may  gain  great  skill  in  action,  even  greater  skill  is  pos- 
sible, for  we  are  being  taught  in  a  world  built  by  the 
Master  Worker. 

[68] 


THE  SPLENDID  GOAL 

Joy  becomes  more  intense  as  we  advance  along  the 
evolutionary  path,  because  there  is  never  any  end  to  the 
glories  unveiled  to  our  awakening  comprehension.  The 
universe  may  be  compared  to  one  of  those  Christmas 
transformations,  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  every  child,  in 
which  scene  melts  into  scene  with  ever  increasing  beauty 
and  color,  until  the  childish  eyes  are  aglow  with  delight 
and  expectation.  So  also  with  us  as  we  grow  upwards, 
but  in  the  universe  the  transformations  are  endless,  God 
ever  concealing  Himself  within  some  lovelier  creation. 
Truly  it  has  been  said  that  "veil  after  veil  shall  lift,  but 
there  shall  be  veil  after  veil  behind."  This  is  the  zest 
of  life,  this  the  inspiration  of  progress,  this  the  eternal 
mystery  of  the  Godhead. 

Evolution  is  the  name  we  have  given  to  that  limited 
portion  of  the  never-ceasing  progress  or  transformation 
within  the  universe,  which  we  are  able  to  observe  here 
on  earth.  Our  understanding  of  evolution  is  often  dis- 
torted, however,  because  that  tiny  portion  of  the  process 
we  are  now  witnessing  is  the  hardest  and  most  trying 
of  all — it  may  be  compared  to  the  uninspiring  scale 
practice  which  is  needed  before  one  can  become  a  skilful 
musician.  All  great  structures  and  achievements  have 
their  scaffolding  stage,  during  which  beauty  is  lacking 
and  the  surroundings  are  unpleasant,  but  the  edifice  con- 
cealed at  first  by  the  rough  timbers  is  later  revealed  in 
all  its  beauty.  So  with  human  character,  which  is  now 
being  built  up  so  laboriously  block  by  block.  It  is  often- 
times unlovely,  because  incomplete,  but  there  is  a  beauty 
and  unlimited  possibilities  in  every  man,  clearly  visible 
to  a  Master's  eye. 

There  seems  to  be  no  limit  to  the  powers  we  may  evolve 
when  we  make  the  effort,  for  our  consciousness  is  a  Bay 
of  the  divine  Light,  and  to  that  Ray  all  achievements 
are  possible  in  time.  We  may  think  of  each  soul  body 
as  a  lens,  through  which  the  Ray  of  universal  Light  is 

[69] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

shining,  so  that  while  we  are  true  spiritual  individuals, 
even  as  the  image  of  the  sun  cast  by  a  burning  glass  is 
separate  from  all  other  images,  nevertheless  we  are  but 
reflections  of  the  one  great  Consciousness.  Has  it  not 
been  said  that  we  were  created  in  the  image  of  God,  and 
do  we  not  recall  the  admonishing  words :  * '  Know  ye  not 
that  ye  are  the  Temple  of  God  and  the  Spirit  of  God 
dwelleth  in  you?" 

Growth  is  not  the  addition  of  qualities  to  our  char- 
acter; it  is  the  stimulation  to  activity  and  to  expression 
of  qualities  which  we  possessed  all  the  time  but  in  a 
latent  condition.  Development  is  therefore  an  unfolding 
of  the  powers  which  are  hidden  within,  even  as  the 
beauty  of  the  rose  is  concealed  in  the  bud.  The  purpose 
of  evolution — the  trials  and  hardships,  the  difficulties 
and  successes,  the  loves  and  hates,  the  pleasures  and  dis- 
appointments, the  luxuries  and  privations — is  to  stir  us, 
coax  us,  and,  if  need  be,  force  us,  to  awaken  to  activity 
and  power  the  hidden,  slumbering  faculties  of  the  soul, 
and  to  show  us  how  we  may  master  world  after  world  if 
only  we  make  the  effort. 

''Truth  is  within  ourselves;  it  takes  no  rise 
From  outward  things,  whate  'er  you  may  believe. 

and  to  know, 

Rather  consists  in  opening  out  a  way 
"Whence  the  imprisoned  splendor  may  escape, 
Than  effecting  entry  for  a  light 
Supposed  to  be  without." 

Most  people  do  not  learn  either  willingly  or  volun- 
tarily, but  seek  to  spend  their  days  in  amusement  and 
fleeting  pleasures,  hence  sooner  or  later,  Nature,  who  is 
an  aspect  of  God,  finds  it  necessary  to  resort  to  drastic 
measures  in  order  to  teach  them  those  things  they  must 
learn.  Growth  is  swift  when  we  take  our  own  evolution 

[70] 


THE  SPLENDID  GOAL 

in  hand,  and  strive  to  co-operate  with  the  divine  Will 
which  makes  for  progress,  but  advancement  is  painfully 
slow  for  millions  of  human  beings  because  they  merely 
exist,  mechanically  following  a  daily  routine,  and  never 
think  of  seeking  out  the  purpose  of  life. 

When  we  see  around  us  men  and  women  who  can  do 
with  ease  that  which  we  cannot  do  and  possess  greater 
powers  than  we — a  strong  character,  a  superb  intellect, 
a  soaring  spirituality,  a  power  to  achieve  that  is  in- 
spiring— there  is  no  cause  for  despair,  any  more  than  a 
child  should  become  despondent  because  he  is  not  yet  a 
student  in  college.  Such  men  and  women  have  out- 
stripped us  in  certain  ways  and  are  therefore  nearer  to 
the  splendid  goal  than  we,  but  as  soon  as  we  put  forth 
similar  and  equal  efforts,  we  shall  lift  ourselves  to  their 
level.  It  may  take  years  or  even  lives  to  accomplish  this 
end,  depending  upon  our  present  stage  of  development, 
but  nothing  can  prevent  us  from  reaching  any  level  of 
achievement  upon  which  we  set  our  will. 

The  splendid  goal  is  not  a  changeless  thing;  it  varies 
with  the  development  of  each  aspiring  consciousness,  for 
it  is  the  next  step  forward  in  evolution  for  that  con- 
sciousness. For  an  intelligent  animal,  the  splendid  goal 
is  humanity ;  for  a  human  being  it  is  Initiation ;  for  an 
Initiate  it  is  Mastership ;  for  a  Master  it  is  a  still  more 
stupendous  height  far  beyond  our  comprehension,  but 
for  all  it  is  the  gleaming  gateway  ahead,  on  the  other 
side  of  which  open  out  the  illumined  vistas  of  a  larger 
life. 

Initiation  is  the  splendid  and  indescribable  Welcoming 
by  the  Masters,  the  Elder  Brothers  of  the  race,  of  those 
men  and  women  who  have  risen  to  that  level  of  develop- 
ment, through  varied  experience  gained  during  many 
lives  on  earth,  where  they  are  nearing  the  point  of  grad- 
uation from  the  world-school.  Initiation  is  the  goal  for 
every  human  being,  and  though  for  millions  its  attain- 

[71] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

raent  is  still  remote  because  of  their  general  undevelop- 
ment,  nevertheless  many  are  coming  into  incarnation 
now  for  whom  Initiation  is  comparatively  near  at  hand. 
A  very  few  will  gain  it  this  life  if  they  were  so  fortunate 
as  to  commence  their  training  while  still  young ;  a  number 
will  win  their  way  to  this  superb  height  next  life  on  earth 
if  they  take  their  evolution  in  hand  now;  many,  however , 
will  reach  this  glorious  consummation  of  physical  exist- 
ence in  only  a  few  incarnations,  if  they  steadfastly  com- 
mence to  practice  this  life  on  earth,  those  simple  rules  of 
physical,  moral,  mental  and  spiritual  education  so  clearly 
explained  in  Theosophy.1 

To  reach  Initiation  the  help  of  a  Master  is  needed,  for 
there  are  many  lessons  to  be  learned  and  much  training 
to  undergo  both  in  this  and  in  the  invisible  worlds. 
Therefore  it  will  be  well  for  us  to  know  something  of  the 
Masters,  of  their  work  for  humanity,  and  how  their 
attention  may  be  attracted  so  that  we  may  receive  the 
necessary  assistance. 

When  a  man,  through  the  long  course  of  evolution, 
reaches  perfection  as  a  human  being  and  is  therefore 
under  no  obligation  or  necessity  to  reincarnate  any 
longer,  he  does  not  withdraw  into  the  utter  bliss  of  some 
spiritual  realm,  leaving  us,  his  younger  brothers,  to 
struggle  unaided  with  our  many  sorrows,  trials  and  prob- 
lems. Unselfishness  and  compassion  are  two  of  the  many 
priceless  lessons  thoroughly  taught  in  this  world-school, 
and  all  who  graduate  from  it  are  embodiments  of  these 
two  spiritual  qualities.  Therefore  one  who  has  com- 
pleted his  human  evolution,  unless  assigned  to  other 
work  in  the  solar  system  for  which  there  is  need,  remains 
in  the  invisible  worlds  surrounding  the  earth  and  in  a 

i  Those  who  are  really  in  earnest  cannot  do  better  than  to  obtain 
a  copy  of  At  the  Feet  of  the  Master  and  strive  to  make  part  of 
their  character  the  precepts  so  simply  laid  down  in  that  wonderful 
little  book  of  the  higher  life. 

[72] 


THE  SPLENDID  GOAL 

most  powerful  way  assists  in  the  evolution  of  humanity. 

Those  who  have  thus  remained  are  often  spoken  of 
as  Masters  (though  in  a  stricter  sense  the  title  " Master" 
is  restricted  to  those  of  the  perfected  men  who  accept 
pupils)  and  they  form  collectively  the  Great  White 
Lodge  or  Occult  Hierarchy,  traditions  of  which  have 
existed  for  centuries  in  the  Orient.  The  evolution  of  the 
whole  of  humanity  takes  place  under  the  guiding  care 
of  this  mighty  spiritual  Organization,  and  in  countless 
ways  the  individual  Masters  help  not  only  the  race  as  a 
whole,  but  also  individual  men  and  women  when  they 
are  found  worthy. 

Though  many  of  the  Masters  are  in  incarnation,  they 
live  physically,  lives  of  seclusion,  and  seldom  mingle  in 
the  hurry  and  rush  of  civilization.  It  would  be  a  useless 
expenditure  of  energy  for  them  to  take  part  in  our 
physical  activities,  as  their  beneficent  work  is  done  al- 
most wholly  and  to  much  better  advantage  in  the  invisi- 
ble worlds.  There  they  can  come  more  intimately  in 
contact  with  the  many  millions  of  souls  who  populate 
this  planet,  and  are  able  to  help  them  more  effectively 
than  would  be  possible  if  they  moved  among  mankind 
physically,  for  here  we  are  handicapped  decidedly  by  the 
limitations  of  the  brain  and  accordingly  are  much  less 
responsive  to  spiritual  forces. 

The  Masters  from  time  to  time,  when  civilization  is 
ready,  introduce  new  ideals  and  aspirations  into  the 
minds  of  men,  by  sending  out  into  the  mental  currents 
of  the  subtler  worlds,  powerful  waves  of  thought  and 
feeling.  These  flood  the  higher  levels  of  the  emotional 
and  mental  worlds,  and  are  caught  up  and  repeated 
physically  by  receptive  people.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
stimulating  ideals,  forceful  ideas,  important  inventions 
and  higher  moral  standards  so  often  arise  spontaneously 
in  many  parts  of  the  world  about  the  same  time.  The 
cause  of  these  sudden  enthusiasms — as,  for  example,  the 

[73] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

intense  desire  for  universal  peace,  the  radiant  ideal  of 
religious  tolerance,  the  inspiring  dream  of  a  co-operative 
civilization,  the  sense  of  personal  responsibility  for  the 
welfare  of  others,  the  quickening  feeling  of  the  need  for 
universal  brotherhood — will  forever  remain  an  enigma, 
until  we  learn  of  this  hidden  labor  of  our  divine  Teachers. 

Barely  one  of  the  Masters  himself  comes  out  openly 
into  the  world  in  order  to  give  with  the  skill,  possible 
only  to  a  Master,  some  important  truth  or  teaching,  or 
help  with  his  physical  presence  in  the  moulding  of  civ- 
ilization in  some  new  and  urgent  way.  Thus  it  is  said, 
by  some  of  the  pupils  who  are  in  a  position  to  know, 
that  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  Masters  is  coming  this 
century,  possibly  within  the  next  few  years  if  the  world 
can  be  made  ready,  to  start  a  new  religious  and  spiritual 
impulse.  And  from  many  indications,  the  opening  quar- 
ter of  this  century  does  seem  to  be  a  turning  point  in 
civilization,  and  it  may  well  be  that  there  lies  ahead  of 
us  in  the  immediate  future,  under  the  supervision  and 
the  inspiration  of  the  presence  of  this  great  Teacher,  not 
only  new  departures  in  science,  philosophy,  art  and  so- 
ciology, but  also  a  wonderful  renaissance  of  religion  and 
spirituality,  which  will  transform  the  world. 

More  often  the  Masters  send  some  pupil  into  the  world 
definitely  to  influence  civilization  in  some  necessary  di- 
rection, either  by  his  skill  in  leadership,  his  genius  in 
art,  his  wisdom  in  writing  or  his  eloquence  in  speaking. 
The  world  is  led  from  ideal  to  ideal,  from  height  to 
height,  largely  by  the  influence  of  great  personalities, 
and  if  we  had  the  power  to  look  behind  the  scenes,  we 
should  find  that  many  of  the  great  men  and  women  of 
history,  both  immediate  and  remote,  were  the  conscious 
or  unconscious  messengers  of  the  Masters. 

Sometimes  the  Masters  find  it  necessary  to  establish  a 
movement  or  organization  through  which  they  can  more 
adequately  and  widely  convey  to  the  world,  certain 

[74] 


THE  SPLENDID  GOAL 

points  of  view  which  must  be  generally  accepted  before 
civilization  can  take  its  next  step  forward.  It  was  for 
this  purpose  that  the  Theosophical  Society  came  into 
existence  as  a  small  though  definite  part  of  the  great 
plan  for  the  helping  of  humanity — even  as  other  move- 
ments have  their  part  to  play  in  this  plan.  One  of  the 
important  reasons,  among  others,  for  which  the  Society 
exists,  is  to  influence  public  opinion  to  accept  a  number 
of  stimulating  spiritual  ideals,  helpful  philosophical 
truths,  fundamental  interpretations  of  life  and  destiny, 
and  wholesome  information  regarding  unseen  things,  in 
order  that  humanity  may  have  an  adequate  working 
philosophy  of  life  during  the  important  changes  in  the 
established  order  which  are  now  appearing  and  will 
shortly  take  place.  Theosophical  information  has  been 
of  value  in  turning  back  the  rising  tide  of  materialism, 
which  threatened  some  two  score  years  ago  to  engulf  all 
spiritual  aspiration,  and  has  also  helped  to  restore  to 
some  of  the  great  religions  of  the  world — Christianity, 
Hinduism,  Buddhism  and  Zoroastrianism — their  power 
to  inspire  and  purify.  Although  Theosophy,  in  its 
purity,  is  unknown  to  most,  because  their  ideas  concern- 
ing it  have  been  based  not  upon  study  but  upon  preju- 
diced rumors  and  the  distorted  opinions  of  others,  never- 
theless its  unlabeled  teachings  have  spread  everywhere, 
and  many  of  the  liberal  and  progressive  ideas,  which  are 
now  generally  accepted,  were  considered  peculiar  to 
Theosophy  thirty  years  ago.  It  is  by  this  slow  absorption 
of  new  ideas  that  civilization  advances. 

If  the  Masters  exist  and  are  guiding  civilization,  we 
may  wonder  why  so  much  crime,  injustice  and  ignorance 
exist  among  men.  We  should  realize,  however,  that  the 
Masters  never  coerce  the  world,  nor  try  to  force  human- 
ity along  any  line  of  progress,  however  desirable.  They 
help  in  their  powerful  way  whenever  the  slightest  oppor- 
tunity is  offered  and  they  constantly  encourage  and  stim- 

[75] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

ulate,  but  they  never  compel.  If  they  had  bent  our  wills 
to  theirs,  this  civilization  would  be  far  more  perfect  than 
it  is  now,  but  we  would  still  be  only  obedient  children, 
instead  of  developing,  as  we  have  partially  done,  the 
strength  and  initiative  of  self-reliant  manhood.  Lessons 
taught  by  precept  alone  are  never  so  deep  rooted  as  those 
impressed  upon  us  by  actual  experience,  and  hence  it 
is  the  Masters  have  allowed  us  to  experiment  and  thereby 
test  our  imperfect  ideas,  realizing  that  only  in  this  slow 
ay — the  way  of  evolution — can  wisdom  most  surely  be 
Mistakes,  failures  and  follies  are  more  effective 

^liersthan  good  counsel  and  advice. 

aim  of  the  Masters  is  to  evolve  a  civilization  which 
may  be  relied  upon  to  do  what  is  right  at  any  cost,  not 
because  of  precepts  which  men  obediently  follow,  but 
because  of  clear-sighted  wisdom  won  in  many  a  losing 
battle  against  wrong,  oppression  and  injustice.  They 
desire  that  the  race  shall  be  pure,  not  because  of  the  un- 
tested virtue  of  innocence,  but  because  it  has  arisen  from 
the  foulness  of  vice  cleansed  and  made  wise  by  inevitable 
suffering.  They  plan  that  humanity  shall  be  wholly 
brotherly,  not  because  of  ignorance  of  hate,  but  because 
men  have  learned  through  experiencing  enmity,  selfish- 
ness and  competition,  that  there  is  nothing  so  priceless 
as  love,  and  that  not  one  thing  can  be  of  lasting  benefit 
to  man  or  nation  if  it  has  been  gained  at  the  expense  of 
others. 

We  learn  only  by  contrasts ;  right  is  seen  by  contrast 
with  wrong,  purity  by  contrast  with  impurity,  strength 
by  contrast  with  weakness.  This  knowledge  is  the  gift 
of  physical  experience,  where  such  contrasts  alone  are 
possible,  and  it  is  worth  everything  through  which  we 
must  go  in  our  many  incarnations  to  gain  it.  Experi- 
ence is  the  magic  wand  which  awakens  the  spiritual  seed 
of  consciousness  after  it  has  been  planted  in  matter. 

We   may   imagine   some   ideal   civilization   springing 

[76] 


THE  SPLENDID  GOAL 

forth  full-formed  from  the  divine  Mind,  which  would  be 
wonderful,  glorious  beyond  all  telling.  But  it  would  be 
a  humanity  of  beautiful  dolls,  obeying  blindly  the  Will  of 
their  Designer,  and  not  a  civilization  which,  though  less 
beautiful,  is  infinitely  more  inspiring,  because  formed  of 
spiritual  intelligences  who  have  won  their  way  to  their 
present  standing  by  sheer  mastery  of  circumstances,  and, 
as  scarred  veterans,  command  homage  and  admiration. 
In  this  thought  may  lie  hidden  the  inner  necessity,  not 
only  for  physical  existence,  but  for  the  manifestation  of 
the  universe. 

We  should  not  shrink  from  experience,  even  though 
hard,  for  experience  alone  can  help  us  win  the  splendid 
goal.  Knowledge  of  the  world  is  as  necessary  to  evolving 
humanity  as  spiritual  understanding,  and  we  eventually 
shall  gain  both.  For  most  of  us,  the  swiftest  growth 
comes  when  we  labor  diligently  in  the  world,  striving  to 
solve  the  problems,  overcome  the  difficulties,  and  manage 
the  situations  of  daily  life  with  efficiency  and  high  mo- 
tive. Some  think  of  the  world  as  spread  with  the  snares 
of  a  devil  and  counsel  turning  the  thoughts  constantly 
to  heaven;  Theosophy  regards  the  world  as  the  crucible 
of  God  in  the  white  heat  of  which  character  is  refined. 
Others  believe  that  spiritual  progress  is  impossible  in  the 
midst  of  civilization  and  advise  retirement  from  the 
world;  Theosophy  states  that  the  instruction  we  receive 
in  daily  life  is  absolutely  necessary  here  and  hereafter, 
for  without  the  detailed  knowledge  and  wide  experience 
which  physical  existence  alone  can  give  us,  we  shall  not 
be  able  to  accomplish  successfully  or  even  commence  the 
mighty  work  in  the  unseen  realms  for  which  these  many 
incarnations  on  earth  have  been  fitting  us. 

There  are  certain  ways  of  meeting  experience,  which 
are  most  effective  in  their  results,  for  not  only  do  they 
intensify  life  to  a  remarkable  extent,  give  richness  and 
meaning  to  every  event  and  make  us  attentive  to  oppor- 

[77] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

tunities,  but  they  also  hasten  our  development,  and  above 
all  bring  us  forcibly  to  the  attention  of  one  of  the  Mas- 
ters. These  attitudes,  which  we  should  seek  to  cultivate 
as  we  go  forth  to  meet  experience,  are  as  follows : 

Teachableness: — So  many  people  go  through  life  com- 
plaining of  the  hardships  of  their  lot,  anticipating  trou- 
bles which  never  come,  blaming  others  for  their  own 
failures,  fretful  over  small  things  and  remarks,  fussing 
with  trivialities,  that  it  is  refreshing  to  meet  a  man  who 
thoughtfully  examines  each  experience,  pleasant  or  un- 
pleasant, sees  its  lesson,  notes  where  he  has  been  at  fault, 
and  quietly  determines  not  to  make  the  same  mistake 
again.  There  is  so  much  subtle  egotism  in  most  of  us, 
that  rarely  do  we  think  of  ourselves  as  the  cause  of  many 
of  our  troubles.  Practically  everyone  is  convinced,  when 
something  unpleasant  has  happened,  that  some  one  else 
is  to  blame,  but  when  anything  particularly  fortunate 
occurs,  we  are  usually  willing  to  acknowledge — modestly, 
of  course — our  responsibility  in  the  matter.  Consider- 
able development  is  shown  when  one  is  willing  to  ac- 
knowledge responsibility  for  failure. 

Every  teacher  will  recall  the  pleasure  which  was  felt 
when  a  pupil  eagerly  co-operated  in  learning  the  lessons 
assigned,  but  probably  remembers  also  with  equal  vivid- 
ness the  discouragement  felt,  when  it  was  necessary  to 
force  a  lesson  on  a  stubborn  child  who,  careless  and  indif- 
ferent, persisted  in  idling  away  his  time.  In  this  world- 
school  many  of  us  resemble  such  foolish  children,  and  no 
doubt  that  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  mother  Nature  is 
obliged  to  administer  a  birching  now  and  then,  in  the 
form  of  strenuous  experience,  to  make  us  learn.  Far 
greater  happiness  would  be  ours  if,  instead  of  thought- 
lessly letting  the  days  slip  by,  we  sought  for  the  priceless 
lessons  they  bring.  Nothing  happens  by  chance;  there 
is  a  purpose,  and  an  excellent  purpose,  in  all  things  and 
events.  Our  business  is  to  find  that  purpose  and  profit 

[78] 


THE  SPLENDID  GOAL 

by  it ;  if  we  do  not,  the  experience  is  repeated  again  and 
again,  with  minor  variations,  until  we  do. 

We  make  ourselves  miserable  oftentimes  by  clinging 
too  tenaciously  to  our  possessions  and  associations. 
'  *  Transplanting  is  as  good  for  us  as  for  seedlings, ' '  tersely 
says  Mrs.  Besant.  The  chief  value  of  the  attractive 
things  of  the  world  is  that  they  call  forth  efforts  in  us 
to  gain  them,  and  efforts  awaken  the  power  to  achieve. 
Possessions  are  of  about  as  much  intrinsic  value  to  us, 
who  are  deathless  souls,  as  books  and  a  slate  are  to  a 
schoolboy.  When  they  have  accomplished  their  purpose 
there  is  no  reason  why  they  should  not  be  discarded. 
The  soul  cannot  use  possessions  in  its  own  world  where 
consciousness  is  the  one  reality,  and  so  when  on  earth 
those  things  which  we  have  gathered  together  are  taken 
away  from  us,  it  is  wiser  to  turn  bright-eyed  to  whatever 
else  Nature  has  in  store,  than  to  complain  and  grieve 
and  drum  our  heels  upon  the  floor  like  angry  children 
deprived  of  their  toys.  Though  we  can  realize  physi- 
cally but  little  of  the  richer,  fuller  life  of  our  soul  con- 
sciousness in  the  heaven  world,  our  duty  is  to  be  keenly 
alert  to  the  meaning  and  purpose  of  everything  which 
happens,  in  order  that  the  soul  within  may  gain  clear 
pictures  of  the  world  without,  and  in  time  master  the 
complexities  of  physical  existence.  Verily  the  Masters 
rejoice  to  help  those  who  are  willing  to  be  taught. 

Efficiency: — The  ability  to  work  without  waste  of 
energy,  loss  of  movement,  or  unnecessary  friction,  is  one 
of  the  great  ideals  of  our  modern  day,  and  is  valuable 
equally  to  the  aspirant  for  spiritual  advancement  as  to 
the  man  of  affairs.  Efficiency  implies  concentration,  the 
paying  of  close  attention  to  everything  we  do,  and  is  a 
faculty  of  much  value  as  it  stimulates  a  magnificent 
mental  development.  If  we  are  practicing  efficiency 
nothing  should  be  done  carelessly  or  hastily  but  with  full 
attention,  each  action  preceded  by  thought  and  guided 

[79] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

by  judgment.  Efficiency  has  no  place  for  slip-shod  meth- 
ods or  slovenly  workmanship ;  whatever  is  done,  either 
sweeping  a  room  or  managing  a  factory,  inscribing  a 
letter  or  writing  a  book,  should  be  done  with  all  our 
might  and  all  our  skill.  We  should  also  be  willing  to 
profit  by  the  experiences  of  others,  and  therefore  make  a 
point  of  reading  carefully  the  best  which  has  been  writ- 
ten upon  a  subject  before  we  act  or  judge.  How  many 
mistakes  and  false  opinions  would  be  eliminated  if  this 
rule  were  followed!  Those  who  seek  the  Masters  would 
do  well  to  practice  efficiency  in  all  things. 

Courage: — Those  who  take  their  evolution  in  hand 
need  courage,  for  destiny  responds  to  their  appeal  for 
progress,  and  the  current  of  life  moves  on  more  swiftly. 
Many  difficulties  will  confront  us,  arising  out  of  mistakes 
and  wrong  judgments  we  have  made  in  the  past,  and  fre- 
quently we  shall  falter  and  fail,  for  we  are  but  human. 
Failure  in  itself  means  little,  however,  if  we  have  the 
courage  to  go  on  again  and  again  after  every  setback, 
thereby  wringing  from  each  failure  its  drop  of  wisdom. 
We  must  have  high  courage  to  play  the  game  of  life  well 
and  with  spirit,  as  becomes  strong  souls,  and  never  to 
fear  the  future,  no  matter  what  it  may  bring. 

When  we  realize  that  our  destiny  is  actually  self- 
caused,  and  that  the  sequence  or  arrangement  of  the 
chief  events  which  come  into  our  life  is  in  the  charge  of 
omniscient  Intelligences,  we  cast  aside  all  apprehension 
and  go  bravely  forward  with  head  erect,  knowing  that 
nothing  can  harm  the  inner  Self,  and  that  all  our  des- 
tiny can  do  is  to  deprive  us  of  our  little  possessions, 
cause  us  some  temporary  suffering,  or  strike  away  our 
physical  body;  through  it  all  we  pass  unscathed,  and  if 
we  have  knowledge,  unshaken,  for  in  us  flames  the  divine 
Fire. 

Our  destiny  is  so  wisely  adjusted  that  nothing  ever 
comes  which  is  too  much  to  bear,  if  we  keep  up  courage. 

[80] 


THE  SPLENDID  GOAL 

Many  a  man  has  been  overwhelmed  physically  and  gone 
down  to  apparent  defeat,  only  to  rise  triumphant  and 
rejoicing  on  the  other  side  of  death,  because  of  a  debt 
well  paid  and  a  victory  won.  No  matter  how  hard  the 
battle  goes,  fight  on,  and  above  all  never  make  the  mis- 
take of  thinking  that  suicide  will  make  things  easier  and 
bring  forgetfulness.  We  may  kill  the  physical  body  but 
we  cannot  annihilate  memory  or  remorse,  and  those  who 
have  slain  their  bodies  when  courage  failed  found  life 
harder  on  the  other  side.  Never  give  up,  struggle  on, 
even  against  heavy  odds,  for  the  Spirit  within  is  inde- 
structible and  imperishable,  and  knows  not  defeat. 

Brotherliness : — Many  people,  responding  to  the  call 
of  brotherhood,  have  started  out  bravely  to  be  of  service 
to  their  fellow  men,  but  meeting  with  ingratitude,  indif- 
ference and  misunderstanding,  have  become  discouraged, 
disheartened  and  even  bitter.  Whereupon  they  let  the 
world  go  on  unaided,  declaring  that  brotherly  service 
was  an  impossible  ideal.  Such  experience  is  almost 
inevitable  at  this  stage  of  evolution,  as  all  who  serve 
will  testify,  because  humanity  is  undeveloped  in  so  many 
ways,  but  does  not  this  very  absence  of  responsive  feel- 
ing on  the  part  of  those  we  seek  to  help,  tell  us,  more 
plainly  than  before,  that  service  is  needed  ?  Ingratitude 
should  only  inspire  more  earnest  efforts  on  our  part  if 
our  attitude  were  right. 

The  difficulty  is,  that  while  we  believe  ourselves  to  be 
wholly  unselfish  in  our  desire  to  serve,  yet  a  taint  of 
selfishness  has  crept  in,  for  all  unconsciously  we  crave 
praise,  recognition,  gratitude  and  even  applause.  Not 
receiving  these,  we  feel  hurt  and  disappointed.  If  we 
were  absolutely  unselfish  we  would  not  ask  for  thanks, 
but  labor  for  the  sake  of  the  work,  and  because  we  love 
our  fellow  men. 

Love  is  the  essence  of  brotherliness,  and  unless  we  feel 
true  affection  for  those  about  us,  with  all  their  faults 

[81] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

and  weaknesses,  our  efforts  to  serve  will  not  long  endure. 
There  are  too  many  disappointments.  But  when  we  love, 
it  inspires  in  us  that  steady  enthusiasm,  emotional  or 
mental  according  to  our  temperament,  which  we  call 
devotion,  and  with  devotion  a  man,  with  even  few  tal- 
ents, may  be  of  great  service  to  the  world  and  may  go 
far  toward  the  Masters.  To  him  no  service  is  too  small, 
no  labor  too  arduous.  He  thinks  of  all  around  him  as 
his  brothers,  and  that  is  enough.  It  is  not  without  deep 
meaning  that  a  Master  prefers  the  name  Brother  above 
all  other  titles,  and  that  one  who  has  reached  this  lofty 
height  never  even  thinks  of  receiving  praise  or  recogni- 
tion, because  his  service  of  humanity  is  perfect  and 
therefore  utterly  selfless.  The  Masters  are  joyous  be- 
yond all  telling  because  they  never  think  of  themselves 
but  ever  of  the  happiness  of  others.  Should  we  not  go 
and  do  likewise? 

In  this  marvelous  world-school,  every  one,  strong 
enough  possibly  to  become  a  leader,  is  tested  even  as  an 
important  piece  of  machinery  is  tested  in  an  engineering 
laboratory.  If  the  tests,  which  are  those  of  daily  life, 
are  passed  successfully,  wider  opportunities  arise,  but 
if  they  are  not  passed,  the  candidate  for  leadership  is 
placed  among  the  followers  again  for  further  instruc- 
tion. Every  day  we  see  men  rise  above  their  fellows  only 
to  fall  back  once  more  into  obscurity — they  were  not 
strong  enough  nor  big  enough  to  wield  power.  As  Elbert 
Hubbard  says:  "The  man  who  is  worthy  of  being  a 
leader  of  men  will  never  complain  of  the  stupidity  of  his 
helpers,  of  the  ingratitude  of  mankind,  or  of  the  inap- 
preciation  of  the  public.  These  things  are  all  a  part  of 
the  great  game  of  life,  and  to  meet  them  and  not  go 
down  before  them  in  discouragement  and  defeat,  is  the 
final  proof  of  power." 

Discrimination: — There  is  a  sense  of  values  called 
discrimination,  which,  when  developed,  enables  us  to 

[82] 


THE  SPLENDID  GOAL 

choose  correctly  between  right  and  wrong,  truth  and 
falsehood,  the  real  and  the  unreal,  the  important  and 
the  unimportant.  Though  of  the  utmost  importance, 
discrimination  cannot  be  taught  by  precept,  rule  or 
book;  experience  alone  can  awaken  this  Godlike  faculty. 
Because  of  the  infinite  varieties  of  experience,  no  two 
sets  of  conditions  between  which  we  must  choose  are 
ever  exactly  alike,  hence  rules  are  useless  and  we  must 
rely  upon  whatever  judgment  we  possess. 

Our  power  to  discriminate  measures  exactly  our  posi- 
tion on  the  evolutionary  pathway,  and  unerring  discrim- 
ination is  found  only  in  a  Master,  because  he  has  com- 
pleted his  human  evolution.  "We  may  do  much,  however, 
to  improve  the  accuracy  of  our  decisions  and  thereby 
awaken  discrimination,  by  striving  each  time  we  choose 
to  do  what  is  brotherly,  what  is  pure,  what  is  thoughtful, 
taking  always  into  consideration  the  needs  of  others 
rather  than  our  own  desires.  In  deciding  where  we  can 
best  be  of  service  especially,  should  discrimination  be 
used,  for  many  people  attempt  that  for  which  they  are 
not  fitted,  and  thrust  themselves  where  they  have  no 
business.  Intrusion  does  not  constitute  service. 

Does  this  life  in  which  we  strive  to  be  teachable,  effi- 
cient, courageous,  brotherly  and  discriminative,  seem 
too  difficult,  the  goal  too  high?  It  will  not  seem  so,  if 
once  we  feel  the  power  and  urge  of  the  Soul  within. 
But  to  feel  the  prompting  of  that  greater  spiritual  Self, 
we  must  calm  the  mind  and  emotions  until  our  subtle 
bodies  are  as  still  as  the  unruffled  surface  of  a  mountain 
lake.  Then  the  light  and  peace  of  the  Soul  flood  the 
mind  and  brain,  and  we  know  ourselves  to  be  divine. 
The  Soul  is  a  shadowy  unreality  to  most  people,  because 
they  are  ceaselessly  engaged  with  external  things  and 
have  never  tried  to  sense  that  spiritual  Presence,  the 
"Unknown  Guest/'  who  awaits  so  silently  just  beyond 
the  reach  of  our  ever-active,  useful  little  minds  until 

[83] 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

we  bid  him  enter  and  assume  command.  A  Master  once 
said  to  his  pupil :  ' '  When  your  body  wishes  something, 
stop  and  think  whether  you  really  wish  it.  For  you  are 
God,  and  you  will  only  what  God  wills;  but  you  must 
dig  deep  down  into  yourself  to  find  the  God  within  you, 
and  listen  to  His  voice,  which  is  your  voice." 

If  we  yearn  to  find  the  Masters,  but  hesitate  to  try 
because  of  our  many  imperfections,  we  should  realize 
that  they  never  ask  the  impossible,  but  always  allow 
for  our  mistakes  and  failings,  for  they  have  not  forgot- 
ten that  long  ago  they  too  were  as  frail  as  we.  Truly 
they  have  been  called  the  Masters  of  Wisdom  and  Com- 
passion, and  we  may  trust  them  utterly,  for  their  great 
love  and  guiding  care  is  divine  in  its  splendor  and  power. 

Words  alone  do  not  attract  their  attention ;  they  judge 
of  our  fitness  for  special  assistance  by  our  deeds,  and 
not  by  our  appeals,  however  eloquent.  Social  standing 
does  not  help  us,  blue  blood  is  of  no  avail,  wealth  and 
possessions  cannot  assist,  for  the  Masters  do  not  judge 
by  the  standards  of  the  world.  Our  advancement 
depends  entirely  upon  our  character,  our  self-mastery, 
the  use  to  which  we  have  put  our  talents.  If  we  have 
used  our  faculties  for  selfish  gain  and  pleasure,  if  our 
thoughts  are  unregulated  and  our  emotions  impure, 
obviously  we  are  not  yet  ready  for  the  Master.  But  if 
we  have  used  our  talents  for  the  benefit  of  others,  and 
have  at  least  partially  succeeded  in  controlling  our 
thoughts  and  refining  our  emotions,  then  the  Master 
knows  us  in  the  invisible  worlds  though  we  may  not  as 
yet  know  him.  If  we  are  in  earnest  our  next  step  is  to 
learn  all  we  can  about  the  Path,  as  it  is  called  in  Theos- 
ophy,  and  deliberately  to  commence  and  steadily  con- 
tinue that  training  of  mind,  emotions  and  body,  so 
necessary  to  success.1 

1  See  ' '  A  Course  of  Beading  in  Theosophy ' '  at  the  end  of  this 
volume. 

[84] 


THE  SPLENDID  GOAL 

Sometimes  people  believe  that  they  can  serve  human- 
ity only  by  giving  up  all  family  ties,  business  obligations 
and  duties,  and  devoting  themselves  entirely  to  altruistic 
and  other  benevolent  work.  If  we  are  free  to  do  such 
work,  we,  of  course,  have  cause  for  rejoicing,  but  if  we 
have  already  taken  upon  ourselves  duties  and  obliga- 
tions, these  responsibilities  come  first  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Masters.  To  shirk  one's  responsibilities  is  always  a 
blunder,  and  if  we  do  so  in  order  to  serve,  such  service 
does  not  lead  us  to  the  splendid  goal.  Listen  to  the 
words  a  Master  spoke  to  one  who  followed  him:  "Be- 
cause you  try  to  take  up  higher  work,  you  must  not 
forget  your  ordinary  duties,  for  until  they  are  done  you 
are  not  free  for  other  service.  You  should  undertake 
no  new  worldly  duties ;  but  those  which  you  have  already 
taken  upon  you,  you  must  perfectly  fulfil — all  clear 
and  reasonable  duties  which  you  yourself  recognize, 
that  is,  not  imaginary  duties  which  others  try  to  impose 
upon  you." 

All  good  work  becomes  service  when  done  for  the  sake 
of  others,  and  it  does  not  matter  whether  that  work 
lies  in  a  business  office,  in  a  school,  in  a  factory  or  in  a 
home.  It  is  not  what  we  do  that  constitutes  service, 
it  is  why  we  do  it — for  self  or  for  others.  Unselfishness 
and  forgetfulness  of  self  are  priceless  qualifications  in 
the  higher  life. 

In  exact  proportion  to  our  ability  to  help,  encourage 
and  inspire  others  will  be  the  swiftness  of  our  approach 
to  Initiation,  and  those  who  are  wise  train  themselves 
carefully  along  some  special  line  of  service — teaching, 
writing,  speaking,  artistic  power,  or  skill  in  some  useful 
way — so  that  they  may  go  to  the  Master,  when  they  ask 
his  assistance,  bearing  in  their  hands,  as  did  the  wise 
men  of  old,  some  gift  of  value.  The  Master  does  not 
need  incense  and  gold,  but  he  does  prize  our  offerings 
if  they  are  of  service  to  humanity,  for  he  has  dedicated 

[85]  > 


THEOSOPHY  SIMPLIFIED 

the  whole  of  his  mighty  powers  to  service,  and  if  we 
would  reach  him  and  share  in  his  joy,  we  must  follow 
in  his  footsteps,  and  as  apprentices,  strive  to  become  like 
unto  him.  Great  shall  be  our  happiness  if  we  lay  the 
gifts  of  a  trained  mind,  pure  emotions  and  skilled  hands 
upon  the  altar  of  service,  and  in  the  midst  of  daily  life 
bring  the  calm  strength,  the  sweet  serenity,  the  radiant 
joyousness  of  spiritual  consecration. 


[86] 


A  COURSE  OF  BEADING  IN  THEOSOPHY 


There  are  about  450  titles  in  the  catalogue  issued  by  the 
Theosophical  Book  Concern;  therefore,  it  is  obviously  impossible 
for  one  commencing  the  study  of  Theosophy  to  select  the  books 
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for  the  purpose  of  guiding  the  reader  in  his  choice  that  the  follow- 
ing titles  are  mentioned.  They  have  been  carefully  selected,  and 
may  be  safely  ordered  by  any  one  desiring  to  become  acquainted 
with  Theosophy.  All  orders  should  be  addressed  to  the  Theosophical 
Book  Concern,  Krotona,  Hollywood,  Los  Angeles,  California. 

General  works,  covering  the  entire  field  of  Theosophy,  arranged 
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Price    Postage 

THEOSOPHY    FOR    BEGINNERS.-    By     C.     W. 
Christie $  .60         $  .06 

Written  for  children,  but  often  appreciated  by 
their  elders. 

AN  OUTLINE  OF  THEOSOPHY.    By  C.  W.  Lead- 
beater  25  .04 

A  popular  summary  written  with  that  wonderful 
clarity  so  peculiarly  the  gift  of  its  author. 

POPULAR  LECTURES  ON   THEOSOPHY.     By 

Annie  Besant   Paper     .25  .05 

Cloth     .50  .05 

Chapter  Titles :  What  Is  Theosophy ;  Ladder  of 
Lives;  Reincarnation,  Its  Necessity;  Reincarna- 
tion, Its  Answers  to  Life's  Problems;  Law  of 
Action  and  Reaction;  Man's  Life  in  the  Three 
Worlds. 

SOME  GLIMPSES  OF  OCCULTISM.     By  C.  W. 
Leadbeater 1.50  .16 

A  large  volume  containing  a  series  of  lectures 
delivered  in  Chicago.  A  few  of  the  chapter  titles 
are :  Theosophy  and  Christianity,  Ancient  Mys- 
teries, Buddhism,  The  Unseen  World,  Psychic 
Powers,  How  to  Build  Character,  The  Future 
of  Humanity,  etc. 

[87] 


A  COURSE  OF  EEADING  IN  THEOSOPHY 

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THEOSOPHY     SIMPLIFIED.         By     Irving     S. 
Cooper    Paper     .25 

A  new  outline  of  theosophical  teachings  marked 
by  its  simplicity  and  directness  of  statement. 
Recommended  to  beginners  and  to  teachers  of 
elementary  classes. 

THE  RIDDLE  OF  LIFE.    By  Annie  Besaiit.  Paper     .25  .03 

A  noteworthy  exposition  of  the  truths  of  Theso- 
phy,  characterized  by  beauty  of  language  and 
depth  of  thought.     Illustrated  by  four  colored 
plates. 

MAN  AND  HIS  BODIES.    By  Annie  Besant 35  .04 

Describes  the  nature,  appearance  and  function 
of  the  visible  and  invisible  bodies  of  man.  A 
standard  textbook  in  elementary  classes. 

A    TEXTBOOK    OF    THEOSOPHY.      By    C.    W. 
Leadbeater 75  .05 

A  clear  and  adequate  statement  of  the  position 
and  fundamental  teachings  of  Theosophy. 

THE  ANCIENT  WISDOM.    By  Annie  Besant 1.50  .09 

Beyond  doubt  the  fullest  and  most  illuminative 
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book in  advanced  classes. 


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A  plain  statement  of  the  fundamental  laws, 
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Special  stress  is  laid  upon  the  danger  of  sev- 
eral popular  methods  of  awakening  psychism. 

THEOSOPHY  AND  THE  NEW  PSYCHOLOGY. 

By   Annie   Besant 75  .05 

A  helpful  explanation  of  the  difference  between 
the  subconsciousness,  waking  consciousness  and 
super-consciousness.  Recommended  to  those 
who  have  been  studying  New  Thought. 

[88] 


A  COUKSE  OF  EEADING  IN  THEOSOPHY 

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A  ^definite  statement,  based  upon  actual  ob- 
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TO  THOSE  WHO  MOURN.    By  C.  W.  Leadbeater. 

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THE  OTHER  SIDE  OF  DEATH.    By  C.  W.  Lead- 
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A  full  account  of  the  life  after  death  with 
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CLAIRVOYANCE.     By  C.  W.  Leadbeater 75  .05 

Contents :  What  Clairvoyance  Is ;  Simple  Clair- 
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Methods  of  Development. 

MAN   VISIBLE    AND    INVISIBLE.      By   C.    W. 

Leadbeater    2.75  .12 

A  fascinating  description  of  the  origin  and 
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THOUGHT  FORMS.     By  Annie  Besant  and  C.  W. 

Leadbeater    3.50  .11 

A  detailed  description,  based  on  clairvoyant 
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THE  ASTRAL  PLANE.     By  C.  W.  Leadbeater.  .     .35  .03 

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[89] 


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INVISIBLE  HELPERS.    By  C.  W.  Leadbeater. . .     .50  .06 

An  absorbing  account  of  the  work  done  in  the 
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A  STUDY  IN  KAEMA.    By  Annie  Besant 75  .05 

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umes not  sold  separately.) 

THE  INNEE  LIFE,  Vol.  I.    By  C.  W.  Leadbeater  1.50  .10 

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the  Worlds  and  Eaces  of  Men,  the  Theosophical 
Society  and  Its  Founders.  An  invaluable  work. 

MAN:    WHENCE,   HOW  AND  WHITHEE.     By 

Annie  Besant  and  C.  W.  Leadbeater 4.00  .22 

A  comprehensive  survey  of  the  past  and  future 
history  of  mankind  obtained  by  clairvoyant  in- 
vestigation. For  the  advanced  student. 

[90] 


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Explains  the  position  of  the  Masters  in  Evolu- 
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SUPEBHUMAN  MEN  IN  BELIGION  AND   IN 

HISTOBY.     By  Annie  Besant 75  .05 

Manifestations  of  Superhuman  Beings  in  Our 
World;  Saviors  of  the  World;  the  Christ  in 
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INITIATION:      THE   PEBFECTING  OF   MAN. 

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An  explanation  of  what  is  meant  by  the  Path 
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HINTS   TO   YOUNG   STUDENTS  OF   OCCULT- 
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WAYS  TO  PEBFECT  HEALTH.     By  Irving  S. 
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[91] 


A  COUESE  OF  EEADING  IN  THEOSOPHY 

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The  First  Section  of  this  volume  should  be 
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IN  HIS  NAME.     By  C.  Jinarajadasa Paper     .25  .03 

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AT    THE    FEET    OF    THE    MASTER      By 

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THE   SECRET   OF   HAPPINESS.     By  Irving   S. 

Cooper    50  .04 

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LONDON  LECTURES  OF  1907.    By  Annie  Besant     .75  .06 

In  four  parts,  dealing  with  Psychism  and  Spir- 
ituality, the  Future  of  the  Theosophical  Society, 
the  Theosophical  Society  and  the  Masters,  the 
Field  of  Work  of  the  Theosophical  Society. 

THE  CHANGING  WORLD.     By  Annie  Besant..   1.00  .09 

A  series  of  fifteen  magnificent  lectures  dealing 
with  social  conditions  and  the  coming  changes 
in  the  established  order.  The  Coming  of  a 
Great  Teacher  is  announced. 

Works  relating  to  Theosophy  and  Christianity: 

Price    Postage 

IS  THEOSOPHY  ANTI-CHRISTIAN?  By  G.  Her- 
bert Whyte $  .25         $  .03 

An  excellent  treatment  of  the  Theosophical 
attitude  toward  Christianity. 

ESOTERIC  CHRISTIANITY.     By  Annie  Besant.   1.50  .12 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  inspiring  of  all 
Mrs.  Besant 's  writings.  Of  the  greatest  value 
to  Christian  as  well  as  Theosophist. 

[92] 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Age  of  soul 50 

Analysis  of  aura   28,  29 

Ancient   Wisdom,  quoted...   26 

Angels  or  devas 27 

Animals    25 

Astral  body  (see  Emotional 

body) 
Astral  world  (see  Emotional 

world) 

Atoms  and  electrons 22 

Aura,  The   28  et  seq. 

Brotherliness     81 

Brothers   (see  Masters) 

Causal  or  soul  body.  .29    31,  32 

Chance  and   destiny    58 

Colors  in  subtle  bodies  .  .30,  31 

Coming  Teacher,  The 74 

Conditions  after  death  ....   39 
Consciousness    in    emotional 

world 34,35 

Consciousness,    waking 35 

Contrasts    76 

Courage    80 

Creation,  joy  in   65 

Crookes,   Sir  William 22 

Death    37  et  seq. 

Definition   of   Theosophy. . .   17 

Densities  of  matter 26 

Derivation  of  Theosophy...   17 

de  Eochas   55 

Destiny 56  et  seq. 

and  chance    58 

and   God    56,  57 

and  Law    59,  60,  61 

Devas  or  angels  27 

Discrimination     82 

Dislike    for    reincarnation. .  .47 

Dreams     35 

Dreams  of  flying 40 


PAGE 

Duplication  of  objects 24 

Duties     85 

Efficiency 79 

Electrons  and  atoms 22 

Emotional  body 29,  30 

response  of  41,  42 

Emotional  world  23 

consciousness  in 34,  35 

population  of 24,  25 

Ether  23 

Etheric  Double  29,  38 

Evolution  66-69 

Experience  47,  48,  50 

meeting     77  et  seq. 

Faculties    53 

innate     62 

Flying,  dreams  of 40 

Forms,   thought    33 

Freewill    62 

Qenius     53,  54 

God    and    destiny    56, 57 

and    universe    66,  67 

Justice  of    51,  52 

Grief,  wrong  of  41 

Growth   of  soul   32 

not  addition    70 

Happiness 65 

Heaven    world    25,  43 

Heredity    53 

Hubbard,  Elbert,  quoted.  .  .   82 
Humanity  and  Masters.  .  75,  76 

Ideals  and  civilization 73 

Initiation     7i?  72 

Innate  faculties   62 

Interval  between  lives ...  49,  50 
Invisible  worlds    20  et  seq. 

Justice   of    God 51,  52 


[931 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Law  and  destiny 59  et  seq. 

Laws  of  emotional  world ...  23 

of  nature 60 

Lives,  interval  between.  .49,  50 
Logic    of    reincarnation. ...   48 

Masters    16,  25,  27,  71,-76 

attracting  attention   of . .  84 

Matter,  densities  of   26 

Memory  of  other  lives ...  54,  55 
of  soul 60 

Mental    body    29,30 

world    25 

Misconceptions    of    reincar- 
nation      49 

Mysteries,  ancient   12 

Origin  of  soul   50 

Perfection    68 

Philosophic    schools     12 

Physical  heredity    53 

Population      of      emotional 

world    24,  25 

Principle  of  repetition. .  .13, 14 

Protyle    22 

Providence     51 

Psychic  investigation    15 

Kays    69 

Reality  of  worlds   22 

Reincarnation    44,  45 

arguments  for    52 

dislike   of    47 

logic  of   48 

misconceptions  of    49 

necessity   for    52 

Relationship   between 

worlds 23,  25 

Religion   and   Theosophy.10, 12 
Renaissance     .  .  28 


PAGE 

Repetition,  principle  of..  13, 14 
Revelation,   Theosophy  not.   18 

Schools,   philosophic    12 

Science    12,13,58 

Service    85 

Sleep    34,38 

Soul  age    50 

body     29-32 

consciousness     44 

growth  of   32 

in  heaven    27 

memory  of    60 

origin  of   50 

Sources   of   Theosophy 9 

Spheres     21 

Splendid  goal   71 

Symbolism     13 

Teachableness   78 

Teacher,  the  coming 74 

Telepathy     32,  33 

Theosophical   Society    75 

Theosophy   and  religion.  .11-12 

definition  of   17 

derivation   of    17 

not   revelation    18 

sources  of   9 

Thought   forms    33 

waves    32 

Transformations     69 

Universe    and    God 66,  67 

Vitality    29,30 

Waking   consciousness    ....   35 

Waves,  thought   32 

Will,  power  of 23 

Work  of  Masters 73  et  seq. 

Worlds,  invisible    20  et  seq. 

reality  of    22 

relationship   between    .  23,  25 


[94] 


U 


The  Theosophical  Society 

OBJECTS 

First. — To  form  a  nucleus  of  the  Universal  Brotherhood 
of  Humanity,  without  distinction  of  race,  creed,  sex,  caste 
or  color. 

Second. — To  encourage  the  study  of  comparative  religion, 
philosophy  and  science. 

Third. — To  investigate  unexplained  laws  of  nature  and  the 
powers  latent  in  man. 

The  Theosophical  Society  is  composed  of  students,  be- 
longing to  any  religion  in  the  world  or  to  none,  who  are 
united  by  their  approval  of  the  above  objects,  by  their  wish 
to  remove  religious  antagonisms  and  to  draw  together  men 
of  good  will,  whatsoever  their  religious  opinions,  and  by 
their  desire  to  study  religious  truths  and  to  share  the  results 
of  their  study  with  others.  Their  bond  of  union  is  not  the 
profession  of  a  common  belief,  but  a  common  search  and 
aspiration  for  Truth.  They  hold  that  Truth  should  be 
sought  by  study,  by  reflection,  by  purity  of  life,  by  devotion 
to  high  ideals,  and  they  regard  Truth  as  a  prize  to  be  striven 
for,  not  as  a  dogma  to  be  imposed  by  authority.  They  con- 
sider that  belief  should  be  the  result  of  individual  study  or 
intuition,  and  not  its  antecedent,  and  should  rest  on  knowl- 
edge, not  on  assertion.  They  extend  tolerance  to  all,  even 
to  the  intolerant,  not  as  a  privilege  they  bestow,  but  as  a 
duty  they  perform,  and  they  seek  to  remove  ignorance,  not 
to  punish  it.  They  see  every  religion  as  an  expression  of 
the  Divine  Wisdom,  and  prefer  its  study  to  its  condemnation, 
and  its  practice  to  proselytism.  Peace  is  their  watchword,  as 
Truth  is  their  aim. 

No  person 's  religious  opinions  are  asked  upon  his  joining, 
nor  is  interference  with  them  permitted,  but  everyone  is  re- 
quired to  show  to  the  religion  of  his  fellow-members  the 
same  respect  as  he  claims  for  his  own.  The  Society  has  no 
dogmas,  and  therefore  no  heretics.  It  does  not  shut  any  man 
out  because  he  does  not  believe  the  theosophical  teachings. 
A  man  may  deny  every  one  of  them,  save  that  of  human 
Brotherhood,  and  claim  his  place  and  his  right  within  its 
ranks. 

The  Theosophical  Society  was  founded  in  1875  and  con- 
sists now  of  National  Societies  or  Sections  in  twenty-three 
of  the  different  countries  of  the  world,  each  with  its  own 
General  Secretary  and  its  own  organization.  Mrs.  Annie 
Besant  is  the  International  President  of  the  Society.  The 
headquarters  of  the  American  Section  are  at  Krotona,  Holly- 
wood, Los  Angeles,  California,  and  communications  asking 
for  information  or  regarding  membership  should  be  sent 
there  addressed  to  the  General  Secretary.  A  List  of  the 
Lodges  in  America  will  be  forwarded  on  application. 


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